Children's Story: Everything

Everything

What do you want to become? If you could become anything you could possibly imagine, what would it be?

What do you want your life to look like when you're grown up? If you could have anything you could imagine, what would it be?

What if I told you that by focusing what you think about on the things that you want, on how you want life to look like, and then working to bring those things into your life, you could have it all? Would you believe me?

Is that how life works? By imagining how your future could look, do you make it turn out that way?

Did you know that there are quite a few adults that believe this way and teach it to others? As you go through school you might hear teachers say this. Or you might see or hear about classes that teach how you can imagine your way to everything you ever wanted.

There is a part of it that is true. How we think, especially of ourselves, and what we imagine do affect the way we view our own lives, how we view the world, and how others view us. And this can, to a large degree affect how we live our lives. But can we have everything we imagine? And can we become anything we want to be? Can we make our futures into whatever we imagine?

There was once an angel that wanted to be God. He imagined himself to be God. He began to think of himself as God. He began to talk about himself as God. And then many other angels began to believe that this angel could be God. After all, he was talking and acting as if he was God.

After a while, the real God addressed all the angels. The Bible tells us that there was war in heaven. I don't know what kind of war a war in heaven was like. I don't think it was the kind of war that we talk about and know about. It was probably a war of thoughts and ideas. But in the end, the angel who imagined himself to be God and this angel's followers could no longer live together with God and the angels who chose to continue to believe in the real God.

So the angel claiming to be God and his followers were sent out of heaven. This angel came to be known as Satan, and made the Earth his home. Even today, he imagines himself to be the god of this world. But is Satan a god like he thinks he is? He may be in his own mind, but the God of heaven is still God over this Earth.

You see God created the angel, who became Satan, to be the best angel there could possibly be. This angel was never meant to be a god. This angel wasn't designed to be a god. Somehow, we don't know how, this angel began to think that if he could just imagine getting more for himself, by imagining being more than what he was, he could become what he imagined and have all that he imagined. But in the end, he ended up with much less than what he originally had.

God designed each one of us for a special purpose. God gave each one of us a unique set of skills, abilities, and personalities. We can become everything God designed us to be. But when we try to become something we weren't designed to be, we might succeed for a while, but in the end, we will end up with much less than what we could have had if we had followed God's design for us.

How do we find out what God's plan for our lives are? What is the secret to God's way of success? It's putting God first and center. Whenever we are faced with a decision, we need to ask, "What does God want from me?" We will likely find pieces of the answer in different places: the Bible, parents, teachers, pastors, counselors, classes, and books. Oftentimes, not everything you hear or read will be true. If we are tuned into wanting to do the right thing for God, the Holy Spirit will help us know which parts to take as the right answer and which parts to leave behind as stuff that will just confuse us and take us down the wrong path.

The most important thing to keep in mind is to put God first and center. We can test everything by asking and answering a simple question: "Is this what God wants for me?" If the answer this question is, "No," then no matter how much you might want it for yourself, or even if other people might say it's okay, then the wise thing to do is to leave it alone.

This week so far

Here's a few odds and ends for this week so far.

On the big issue of our home purchase, we're just waiting for things beyond our control. The property appraisal will be happening this coming Sunday. As far as I know, that is the one remaining major item. The other outstanding item, property insurance, is dependent on the appraisal. Our rate lock expires on July 5, so we have to close on the purchase by then. Here's hoping and praying that will indeed happen.

On Monday I did some prepatory work on a sermon for this Sabbath on John 5:1-19. On Tuesday I realized that this would work better for next Sabbath. The theme is related to freedom, and next Sabbath being the one right before the U.S. Independence Day holiday, the sermon I think would work better then.

So Tuesday I went to the secondary (occasional) series that I started on a different look at the book of Daniel. I spoke on Daniel chapter 1 a few months ago. This Sabbath would be a perfect time to pick up Daniel chapter 2. Yes, it's the chapter with the dream of the big image and the prophecy of the kingdoms -- a historical favorite with Adventists. But as I just mentioned, my series is a different look at Daniel. After spending some time with the chapter, I believe that there are themes in the chapter that are at least as significant and important, if not more so in today's world, as the prophecy itself. So that is what I plan to speak on this Sabbath.

The Fiddleheads performed another small concert this afternoon. This time, it was at the daycare operated by the Lutheran church. This was a sort of homecoming for the Fiddleheads, as this was the first public performance that they did a year or so ago. Afterwards the staff and the kids at the daycare went around collecting autographs of the Fiddleheads performers.

Last week during my helping out at VBS, I caught a cold. (That seems like the most likely place anyway.) Now both Shelley and Amy have it. Elise doesn't have it yet...

Tomorrow, June 21, is Summer Solstice. It's also the day to get out the cameras for A Day in the Life of Petersburg. Anyone and everyone is invited to make images chronicling the day, and then submit them to the fall photography show and contest at the museum. I don't know if I'll be getting out of bed at 3:30 a.m. with the first light, but I will likely be wandering about the city with a couple of cameras.

Weekend in review

A couple of weeks ago, while browsing through Sing Lee Alley Books, I came across the brand-new edition of Sunset Western Garden Book I also found a little field guide to edible plants in the Southeast, Alaska's Wild Plants: A Guide to Alaska's Edible Harvest. Since these weren't an urgent thing and I didn't want to pay full price or the sales tax, I ordered it from Amazon.

These arrived last Friday, and ever since, Amy has been fascinated by the Sunset encyclopedia of plants. She's been reading through the plant entries, making a list of plants she'd like to grow in the future. We definitely have a sprouting/budding (the pun is quite intentional) botanist among our midst. We may have here a future naturalist or biologist...

This past Sabbath, we had four young adults from the Ukraine in church. They are spending the summer here, working at Trident Seafoods. Their grasp of English is not terribly great, their primary language being Russian. I hope that they were able to understand enough to grasp the basics of what was being discussed.

Yesterday, the sunny and warm weather of the past week reverted to cloudy and wet. Our teenager pushed my tolerance and patience past its breaking point and I simply had to leave the house for a while.

I packed up some survival gear, several water bottles, a bag of Cheerios, and headed out on my bike into the forested mountains. After a couple of miles on the pavement, I turned off onto a dirt and gravel road rounding the east side of the island. (There's a beach property for sale, if anyone is interested...)

The road went up and down. I really dislike loose gravel. As far as mountain biking goes, I much prefer plain old dirt. I suppose for cars though, gravel might be better. Descending on loose gravel is the worst part, because you can't brake too hard for fear of the back wheel slipping out. And when there a downhill corner with gravel, you never know if you might hit it wrong and slide out. Fortunately, I remained upright the whole time.

It's too bad there was so much clouds and fog, because on a clear day, the road I was on should have offered some pretty good views of Frederick Sound and the mountains on the mainland. What I did see were some nice wildflowers in the muskeg. I heard quite a few birds, but didn't see any of them, nor did I encounter any animals. The one thing I was a little wary about encountering was a bear. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do if one appeared in the road. I didn't get to find out, though.

After about 1-1/2 hours I came to the city limit sign on the east side of the island -- the first time I've ever seen this. I was now in state and federal lands -- and also much less gravel. And a few minutes later I came to a "T" where I could turn to the right and hit the highway 5 miles away, or go to the left and return to the highway after 17 miles.

Since I was still feeling fine, though a tad chilly, I decided to turn left and continue through the forest. (In hindsight, perhaps heading back home to the right might have been the wiser choice.) It was more up and down on dirt roads, through forest, through meadows, and through muskeg.

Upon reaching the Three Lakes area (probably an hour later), the scenery changes somewhat with a small creek running on one side. It's the kind of place where you want to paddle about in a kayak, among the tall grasses and the wildflowers.

When in a car, a person doesn't notice the microclimate changes. On a bicycle, it's quite evident because you can feel it in your face. There are drier portions and wetter portions. And the vegetation shows it.

By this time I was feeling quite fatigued. I had pretty much exhausted my body's energy reserves. I had been stopping every 30 minutes to take in Cheerios, but it was not enough. My right knee was also starting to bother me. Another 30 minutes past Three Lakes, I reached Mitkof Highway, at a point 15 miles out from the city.

I was running strictly on fat reserves (and believe me, I don't have much of that). The rain was starting to come down more steadily, the wind was blowing, and I no longer had enough energy to go fast enough to keep my core warm. (My usual crusing speed on packed dirt and pavement is around 14-16 mph. I was struggling to make 10 mph, and even a slight incline dropped my speed to 5 mph or less.) I was getting colder and colder. And my knee was now quite painful. At least I was on the main highway, so if I had to I could flag a passing vehicle and either hitch a ride, or have them call Elise to come pick me up.

Now I was stopping every 15 minutes to rest, recover, warm up a bit, and get a little bit more food into my stomach. My goal was to reach milepost 8.5 which is where one of our elderly church member couple lives. If I could get there, I could make a call to Elise and have her come pick me up.

I literally limped into their house, shivering from slight hypothermia. I guess it was sort of good that I was in this condition, because it forced me to stop at their home and visit. It's been several weeks since we've seen them in church. We've spoken by phone but it was time to go see them. So as I warmed up, we visited for a while. Elise came and stayed for a little while. And then I loaded the bike onto the pickup and headed home.

I'm disappointed that I didn't get to complete the loop. That means that I'm going to have to try this ride again -- probably on a warmer and drier day -- and with more food.

Bible Reading 2007, Week 25

This week's reading is found in 1 Kings 12-22; Amos; 2 Chronicles 10-22:9; Jonah; and Psalms 128-134.

There is considerably more quantity this week than there has been. You'll want to increase daily readings by about 50%.

Sermon: Please Come Down

(Click on above title link to listen to MP3 audio of the sermon.)

Today's sermon explores the story of the royal official and his sick son. This is found in John 4:43-54. The key verses in this story are vv. 49-50.

This sermon explores the theme of superficial vs. genuine faith, and the theme of physical vs. spiritual death, healing, and life.

Children's Story: Real Healing

Real Healing

Have you've been sick?

How do you feel when you're sick?

Do you feel like going out, running around and playing? Or do you feel like stuffing yourself with your favorite food? No, not usually. When you're sick you're usually feeling pretty icky and usually just want to lie around, sleep, and rest.

Have you ever been so sick that you thought you might die? (Unless there is actually someone present that has been there:) No, I don't think any of you have been that sick.

Whenever you get sick, your moms and dads get worried and concerned. Moms and dads don't like to see their children sick and feeling bad and miserable. We want to see you get better and feel better.

So what do moms and dads do? What kinds of things do we do to try to help you feel better and get better? We might give you medicine, Advil or Tylenol, to help with headaches and fevers. Or perhaps a little bit of throat spray medicine to help with sore throats. We might help you with cool towels or ice if you're feeling hot. We also pray -- pray to God to help you recover and get well quickly.

When Jesus was here on earth, when Jesus was a little boy and a teenager, did he ever get sick? The Bible doesn't say that he did or that he didn't, but I have a pretty strong hunch that he got colds, headaches, sore throats and fevers. I'd venture to guess that Jesus probably knows exactly how you're feeling when you're sick.

In today's sermon, I'll be talking about a story -- not where Jesus is sick -- but when a little boy is sick, and his father comes to Jesus to ask Jesus to heal the little boy. This little boy was at the point of death -- his father thought the boy was going to die. Jesus did answer the father's request and the boy was healed.

In our world today, we pray for healing when someone is sick. Jesus will sometimes answer with healing. But at other times, he chooses not to heal.

Did you know that in the Bible, when Jesus talks about healing, it is more than just about someone getting better from being sick? When Jesus talks about healing, he is also talking about salvation. To Jesus, healing and salvation are the same thing.

When we pray for healing, it's usually for healing from physical sickness -- the things that make us feel icky and bad. Jesus is concerned about how we feel right now, but he is even more concerned about our eternal future. Jesus wants us to pray for the type of healing that brings us salvation. And that kind of prayer -- the one that asks Jesus to save us -- will always be answered with, "Yes!" The only thing we need to do is to choose to ask Jesus for the salvation-healing, and then trust that when Jesus says to us, "You're healed; you're saved," that he really means what he says.

VBS at the Baptist Church

I spent the mornings this week helping out with the VBS at the Baptist church. I was assigned to the grade 2 & 3 group: follow them around, make sure everyone gets from one activity to another, and help out in the activities as needed. Elise came out for a couple of days when she wasn't working. Shelley came to help out for the first day only. Amy was part of the oldest group of kids. Except for Tuesday, when she has a guitar lesson, she was present every day.

In addition to the regular Baptist church members, there were four young adults (called missionaries) from the Lower 48 who travel through the Southeast to help out the churches with their VBS programs. After the VBS programs, they will head off to help out with youth camps.

The group I was helping had to have been the most lively and rambunctious group. Both the boys and girls were constantly moving, even when sitting, chatting amongst themselves, and when it came time to yell out songs and phrases, they had the most volume of anyone.

The program's theme was Heroes in the Bible, supplemented with a sports theme. The whole week was about the kids training and preparing to enter the Game Day of life, and how the Bible contains principles that kids can use to help them in that preparation.

Each day, our group started out with the general worship rally, then outdoor games and snacks, followed by a missions program, then crafts, and then the Bible study time. The morning ended each day with a closing worship rally.

Here are a few photos from today's activities (click on contact sheet image to enter gallery):

Shelley's Birthday Party

Shelley had her birthday party this afternoon/evening. It was a "bring-a-friend" party. Including our girls, there were fifteen at the event. It was three hours of non-stop gabbing and shouting. They started off with a game of Apples-to-Apples followed by pizza, cake, cookies, chips, and ice cream. And then a game of Cranium Turbo. The gifts were then opened. And finally the evening wrapped up with another session of Apples-to-Apples.

(The pizzas here run $25 for each large one... And no coupons.)

Anyway, here is a link to a some photos from the party.

Hammer's Slough in June

Here's the iconic Hammer's Slough in Petersburg on a sunny day in June.

Another sunny, summer day

Today was another warm, sunny, summer day. The next several days look like we will be seeing similar weather patterns.

Here is a view of Frederick Sound at low tide as the sun is heading lower this evening.

A house or a yacht...

This past Sabbath, a retired surgeon dropped in for a visit at our church. He is on his way from Friday Harbor, Washington up to Juneau, sailing on a nice, big motor yacht.

In the evening, we went out to the harbor to drop in for a visit. It is a gorgeous vessel - hardwood floors and cabinetry, multiple suites, etc. I think overall that this vessel has more floor space than we currently do in our apartment. The galley had at least as much counter space as we do...

Our girls decided that we should get one of these... Right! We could either have a house to live in, or a boat... Hmm... Which is more practical at this juncture? I think we'll stick with the house for now.

Bible Reading 2007, Week 24

The Bible readings for this week are found in 1 Kings 9-11; Joel; 2 Chronicles 1-9; and Psalms 28 and 29. These passages cover the remainder of Solomon's reign and (in Joel) the eventual result of Solomon's failure to remain faithful to God.

Sermon: Securely Mine

(Click on title link to listen to MP3 audio of the sermon. The audio begins a few minutes into the introductory portion.)

I ended up getting out of bed at around 4 a.m. this morning to put together enough organization to all of the notes I had been preparing the past week.

The sermon looks into the story of the Samaritan woman at the well near Sychar. This is in John 4:1-43. The main issue I was having this week was that I had lots of ideas for great lectures I could present on this passage, but I was unable to put together a coherent sermon.

The difference between a lecture and a sermon? A lecture is primarily about information dissemination. A sermon is supposed to come from the speaker's heart and into the listener's heart. A sermon needs to be more than just information. It should, ideally, require and inspire some sort of decison or action (even if it's to continue in the same direction). A lecture requires nothing more than comprehension.

The primary message of the sermon comes from the last few verses of the story (vv. 39-42). It's where the people of Sychar come to believe in Jesus as the Savior, each for themselves. I know I find it really easy to think that I believe and trust in Jesus because something I hear or read make a lot of sense. But the question is this: Does it remain simply an intellectual satisfaction, or does it enter the heart and make a change in my life? For me, for this week, that is the question posed by this story. The story provides the answer that I ought to give.

Children's Story: Life Vests

This morning I told the following story. Since I didn't write it out first, what follows is my recollection of more or less what I said.

---

Life Vests

Back in September we moved from Portland, Oregon to this town (Petesrburg, Alaska). We drove from Portland to Bellingham, Washington, and then boarded a ferry called the M/V Malaspina. The day we boarded, it was bright and sunny, like it is today. (Though by the time we came into Petersburg, it was, as is typical, raining.)

We settled aboard and then I think it was the Purser who announced that there was going to be a short demonstration of safety equipment and procedures at the cafeteria. At the announced time, we made our way to the cafeteria to watch and listen to the demonstration and instructions.

The crew showed all of us what to do if an emergency occurs on board that would require everyone to quickly get off the boat. They showed us life vests and other equipment that would help us stay afloat in the water. They assured us that there was enough equipment for everyone to have one, if they were ever needed. On that fall sailing, since the number of passengers was about equal to the crew, I suspect that if we really wanted, we each could have had two or three floatation devices.

Let's say that the ferry hits a big rock and begins to take on water. It's starting to sink. The announcement is made that everyone needs to make their way to the muster point, collect appropriate survival equipment, and then go to the life rafts. Does it make sense to ignore all of the instructions, leave all the safety equipment behind, and jump into the water?

Or perhaps you follow the instructions, but you choose to not get your own life vest. You figure that you can just grab onto your mom or dad and their equipment. But what happens if you find yourself in the water, and a huge, strong wave comes over you? What happens if you lose hold of the person with the life vest?

Since there is more than enough safety equipment, it doesn't make sense to go off the ferry without it, does it? It doesn't make much sense to try to borrow someone else's equipment.

But people try to do that with Jesus, with their spirituality. Some people think they can borrow someone else's Jesus and spirituality. Maybe a boy or a girl thinks that because their mom or dad reads their Bible, that they don't have to read it for themselves. Or maybe because their pastor or their teacher prays for them, they don't need to pray for themselves. Does that make sense to you?

It might seem to work for a little while -- hanging on to your parents' or your pastor's or your teachers' Jesus. But what happens when really difficult times hit? When they aren't close by, or when they don't seem to have the answers for you? If you're relying on their trust in Jesus, you might suddenly find yourself drowning.

Jesus and God are like a life vest. In fact he is better than that, because through the Holy Spirit, God can live inside you. But you have to have Jesus for yourself. You have to wrap Jesus around you and have the Holy Spirit live inside you. You can't rely on holding onto anyone else to keep you afloat when difficult times come in your life. Will you choose to wrap Jesus around you?

Sunny muskeg in June

Today was a sunny day from dawn. I tried and tried to put tomorrow's sermon together, but so far, it hasn't happened. I'm blaming the weather, particularly the sun, for my under-inspiration.

This week was Vacation Bible School at the Bible Church. Amy went there for three days. The parents were invited for their closing little bit, so we went to get an idea of what the kids were doing during the week. It was full of joyful noise and a mostly-controlled sort of bedlam.

Next week, the Baptist church holds their VBS. We offered to lend a few hands to help, and it looks like we will be doing just that.

We, ourselves, will not be having a VBS. If everyone who attends our church regularly and not-so-regularly was able to help (and only about half actually fit into that category), we might be able to do something. But the reality is that it's just me who would be able to do that in our church, so it just isn't realistic. My thought is that for next year, we might see if there is a church or school group from the Lower 48 that wants to spend a week of vacation time here running a VBS.

This afternoon, I finally gave up trying to work on the sermon. Instead, I took my camera out with me on a walk through the muskeg. The air temperature may have only been in the low 60's, but it sure felt hot. I was in short sleeves and still sweating. Here are a few photos of what the muskeg looks like during early summer.

(Click on a image for larger view and caption)

So what will happen about the sermon? I have plenty of notes that I've taken down during the preparation. I also have all sorts of themes and topics from these notes. But all that have not yet "jelled" into a coherent sermon.

Maybe if the rain started to fall... That might help with a little bit of inspiration. What do you think?

Fiddling notes

This past Tuesday afternoon, Shelley, as part of the Fiddleheads fiddle group, performed for the children that gathered for the city library's opening of their Summer Reading Program. It was held inside the city council chambers. The room was full, holding about fifty children and adults. It was a great little performance. In between the opening and closing portions of the performance, the librarian described the reading programs for children and teens, as he well as a couple of other events happening during the summer.

For the past week Shelley has been trying out a different violin, and yesterday we purchased it. Since we don't have a local instrument shop, the two choices we have are to get it shipped in somehow, or find someone in town that wants to sell theirs. Fortunately we were able to get an instrument from a local family wanting to sell theirs. The instrument itself is a beginner's instrument. But it came with a nice case. :)

How much of hot pepper innards to remove...

I'm still trying to figure out how much of the innards of serrano chiles to remove. If I take it all out, there's really not much point in cooking with them. Leaving in too much means the dishes are way too hot for most people.

This evening, I left in most of the middle fuzz and about a dozen seeds for a green bean dish. Amy's first reaction was a startled yelp. I tried it and discovered that, yes, it was on the warmer side. Both girls did finish (together with generous helpings of plain yogurt) the serving that I had placed on their dishes.

It's looking as if they're getting their taste buds conditioned to spicier foods. Later in the evening, after they returned from the pool and Elise came home, both girls decided to have more of the green beans. From hearing Shelley talk about it, I think that Shelley is learning the pleasures that come with spicy hot foods.

So maybe I don't need to worry so much about finding a precise measure of how much of the innards to leave in... Maybe I can continue to increase the heat level...

What's your theological worldview? - A quiz

Here is my result, which I don't find at all surprising. The first two I would say are statistically identical, so the results say my theology is based very much in the Adventist/Methodist/Wesley/Arminian tradition but interpreting it in a postmodern/progressive/emergent context.

You scored as Emergent/Postmodern,You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this.

Emergent/Postmodern		89%
Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan		86%
Reformed Evangelical		57%
Neo orthodox		54%
Classical Liberal		50%
Charismatic/Pentecostal		46%
Modern Liberal		43%
Roman Catholic		21%
Fundamentalist		14%

What's your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com

Bible Reading 2007, Week 23

The readings for this week are found in 1 Kings 1-8; 1 Chronicles 28-29; and Psalms 31-34, 71, 90, 102.

These chapters recount the end of David's reign and the beginning of Solomon's.

Another week in review

This past week was mostly showery with a few sunbreaks. But Friday was almost like a summer day. The skies were fair, the sun came through, there were no showers, and the temperature hit around 60F. I went out on my first of the season, longer-than-one-hour bike ride out Mitkof Highway and back. Going out must have been mostly tailwind, because on the return it was headwind nearly all the way. I also discovered that the north side of the island is much cooler than the south side. As soon as I came up and over PFI hill on the north end of town, the air became noticeably chillier. It must be all the air coming down through Frederick Sound that is cooler than the air coming up from the south from downtown on south.

This past week was also one of waiting for the signed purchase agreement to come back to us. It finally did on Thursday. I got it faxed to our lender, but it turns out that the person I'm working with had a family emergency. I received a call from another person on Friday letting me know that loan processing will begin on Monday. Life is unpredictable -- I guess that's just how things go.

Last Tuesday, Shelley brought back a new, used fiddle to try out. According to the instructor, it isn't quite as nice as the one she is currently borrowing, but good enough for now. We still need to contact the owner to find out how much she wants for it.

I purchased a 7-year old downloadable home design software. All I wanted was a way to draw out the basic floor plan and the ability to move furniture around and visualize it, so age of software didn't really matter as long as it would work. It was the least expensive option at $9.99 and had the benefit of being able to use it immediately without waiting for the mail to arrive. It's been Shelley that's spending the most time with it. She's got most of the floors draw into it.

We had a small group at church yesterday. A few of our members were out on their boat at the Stikine river. The mouth of the Stikine is about 8 miles east of the southeastern tip of Mitkof Island. (Petersburg is at the northern tip of the island.) The Stikine goes up the mainland, crosses the border between the U.S. and Canada, and goes deep inside Canada. There are a number of hot springs along the river that people can simply wade into. We visited the members in the evening and they said they saw moose and bears. They went to the border and turned around. In order to go through, the border patrol needs to be called ahead of time so that they can meet you at the border and clear you through.

I walked about in the muskeg trails to the Post Office and back in the afternoon. The muskeg is starting to show its spring blooms. Yellow, magenta, pink, and white flowers are in bloom everywhere. I've got to get myself out there with a camera to capture a few of the colors.

Today is Shelley's birthday. I'm not sure if we'll be doing anything particularly special today. I think she's planning to have a party on the 14th of the month.

Over the last few days Elise has been called in to work to replace one person or another that isn't feeling well and so on. It certainly doesn't look like there will be any shortage of work for nurses here.

The house was inspected this afternoon. (The individual performing the inspection, we discovered, also lives in our apartment complex.) There really wasn't a whole lot that needed work. A couple of loose railings and a couple of missing GFIs on outlets. There was, however, a tree in the back that is looking about to fall over. We hadn't noticed this in the previous visits, so it must be new. If it does fall before it gets taken out, from how it's leaning, it will fall onto the back lawn without hurting anything else. This is one thing the seller will likely take care of soon.

Both girls have been over at the Herbrandsons today working on their little garden patches and baking some cookies. Elise headed over there following the inspection.

It's a sunny and warm day today. The forecast this morning said temps will reach 75F with thunderstorms possible this evening, but I don't think that'll happen. It's currently just above 60F. A sunny day in the 60's is a summer day around here.

That wraps up the set of updates for this week.

Sermon: Be Yourself

(Click on above title link to listen to sermon MP3 audio.)

Sermon is based on John 4:19-26 (ESV). The key text is John 4:23-24 from The Message translation.

In this sermon I try to make sense of what Jesus meant when he said that true worshipers will worship God in spirit and truth. The Message translation brings a perspective that helps me understand a dimension of what Jesus likely meant.

As it has been with my recent sermons, the children's story is integral to the sermon. It provides some historical and cultural background to the Samaritan woman's question to Jesus.

Children's Story: "Owning" God

"Owning" God

Hi kids! Can you own God? [Wait for responses.]

Where does God live? [Wait for a few responses.]

Churches are often called "houses of God." Does God live inside a church? Does God live in this building? [See Acts 7:48, 17:24.]

So where does God live? [Wait for a few responses.]

People who lived long time ago often believed that gods lived in special places. These places may have been things like furniture, rocks, trees, houses, or temples. Idols were thought of as places where a god lived.

Because they thought a god could live in things and buildings, they thought they could own gods. Even though gods were powerful, the people believed that by doing just the right things and by giving just the right offerings, the gods could be made to do what the people wanted.

Some of these people believed that there were many gods and each god had power over a small section of the world. They believed that when a person left one god's section of the world, they would have to worship the god controlling the next section if they wanted to be safe and prosperous.

Some of these people thought that by carrying objects that were special to their god, they could carry a piece of their god around, even if they were traveling in an area controlled by, what they thought, was a different god.

Even the ancient Israelites, the nation that eventually became the Jews and the Samaritans, thought this way. There was a time when the army asked for a special furniture item in their church to be brought out because they thought God lived in this furniture and would help them. (It turns out that God didn't help them in this case.) They were commanded to bring their offerings to their temple, because that is where they believed God was present in a special way. When their temple was destroyed, they thought God had left them because they believed that God had to have a place to live.

The Jews and Samaritans during the years that Jesus was on earth also believed something like this. The Jews thought that they could only worship in Jerusalem because they believed that was where God lived. The Samaritans thought the proper place of worship was a mountain called Mount Gerizim, because that was a special place where in past history, God often associated himself.

But Jesus came and told us that where we worship isn't nearly as important as the attitude we have when we worship. Jesus told us that we can worship anywhere as long as we want to have God come meet with us.

After Jesus went back to heaven, a person named Stephen and a person named Paul said that God doesn't live in temples and things made by people. Paul also said that when we choose to become God's person, we become his temple and the Holy Spirit, who is God, comes to live in us.

When we choose to become God's person and the Holy Spirit lives in us, we become able to really worship God.

Many people worship God because they think they have to, or because they're afraid of him. Many people think, like the people of long ago, that by worshiping God in just the right way, they can control him. But people who have the Holy Spirit living in them worship God because they love him. They worship God because they are thankful for all the help God gives in living life.

Jesus said that God is looking for people who worship him because they love him with all their hearts. Do you want to be that kind of person?

Garbanzo (Chickpea) Paella

Most paella recipes call for using lots of shellfish and chicken. If you aren't into that sort of thing, what do you use as substitutes for those ingredients? Some might use soy or wheat based imitation meat substances. But what if you don't particularly care for those, or can't find them readily available?

My solution this evening was to use a can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas). The result won't match that with chicken and shellfish, but if you don't know any better, then it's a perfectly acceptable result.

While squeezing the diced tomatoes, I sprayed myself with some of the juice. Fortunately I was wearing a fairly dark, synthetic shirt (rather than white cotton), so it looks like all of the juice washed off without leaving a stain.

Here's the recipe:

Garbanzo (Chickpea) Paella

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp. olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 or 2 bell peppers, sliced into strips (or equivalent frozen strips)
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained and squeezed (or equivalent fresh tomatoes)
• 2 cups medium grain rice
• 4 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth, if you prefer)
• A pinch of saffron (approx 1/4 tsp. of threads, crushed with mortar and pestle)
• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 lemon, sliced into wedges

Directions

1. In a large (12-inch or so with high sides) skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. When hot, fry garlic until fragrant, about a minute. Add onions and fry until they start to turn golden. Add pepper strips and fry until they start to become tender (or until most of the water from the ice evaporates).
2. Add tomatoes and stir to mix. Add rice and stir to mix until coated well with sauce.
3. Add broth and saffron. Stir to mix well. Add garbanzos on top (do not stir). Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Check to make sure rice is done, then turn off heat. Leave skillet on burner to keep warm and to allow rice to finish absorbing any remaining water.
5. Serve hot with lemon wedges on side.

Need to learn auto mech and woodworking

Since my pay to time ratio is now at infinity, it looks like I need to learn basic auto maintenance skills as well as learn how to do woodworking.

I had the standard lube-oil-filter service done at the local shop and the bill came to almost $90! When (materials + labor + sales tax) are taken into account, that's about what would be expected. Still, when I'm still used to all the competition driving down service rates, $90 is a bit of a surprise.

We'll need quite a number of bookcases, shelves, desk units, and cupboards once we move, and I'm pretty sure that in the long run building them myself rather than purchasing them will come out to be much less expensive.

Once we have a place to store additonal tools and equipment, it looks like I'll be venturing into yet more skill areas that I have not had any need in the past. We'll see if the next year turns me into something more than a bumbling mechanic and carpenter.

We did finally get the signed purchase agreement from the seller. It's been faxed to the lender so that loan processing can begin. Now it's a matter of waiting to see if the loan will be approved. I've arranged for a home inspection this Sunday afternoon.

Choir News Notes in the NPUC Gleaner

A news article from when we had the "campmeeting" during the first part of April is in the current issue of the North Pacific Union Gleaner. The article is also online here.

Since the article was published, I wrote in an previous blog that we added two members. Here is the photo of all six members at the end of our (short) season. We'll be restarting in the fall.

Finally starting to set down roots

For the past eight months we've been sort of like seedlings waiting for the weather to warm up so they can be transplanted into their permanent locations. We've been living in an apartment that I recently measured to be just under 800 sq. ft. -- not unlike one of those little starter containers that the plants just can't wait to outgrow.

Just as with many seedlings that you need to harden to the outdoor conditions that they will eventually reside in, we've experienced fall, winter, and spring at this location and have experienced quite a bit of the seasonal rhythms that occur annually.

But as with seedlings that are getting too big for their little starter containers, that's about where we are now. We think it is time to permanently set our roots into the soil of Petersburg. And various things have converged in the last couple of weeks -- some might say coincidences, I think it more likely that God's been orchestrating things -- so that we looked at several properties for sale and made an offer on one last Thursday. It was accepted almost immediately, even though it was not a full-price offer.

The whole purchase process will likely take up to six weeks. If all goes without a hitch, we should be moving out of our apartment sometime in July.

For those who are interested in looking at a few photos of the property and house, click here or on the image:

Bible Reading 2007, Week 22

The story of David continues in our Bible readings this week in 2 Samuel 11-24; 1 Chronicles 18-27; and Psalms 51 and 52. We enter the latter part of David's reign, the story of the decline of his rule. Yet in spite of all David's mistakes, God still keeps his promises to David.

No sermon from yesterday

Just a short note to say that I didn't give the sermon yesterday as Pastor Brown gave it.

This coming Sabbath, June 2, I continue our journey through the Gospel of John by taking a look into what chapter 4 teaches us.

Salmon Derby

At 7:04 a.m. yesterday morning, several skiffs in the Narrows began racing past our front window. One might almost (almost...) be forgiven for thinking that this was the start of a powerboat race... The spray and wakes churned the calm morning waters. As the minutes passed by, more boats went by. Soon enough, the first of the larger boats, going as fast as it could safely do so, sailed past. Trollers, gill netters, purse seiners, long liners all began to sail through into the Sound -- all for a shot at one of the prizes up for grabs this Memorial Day weekend.

The boats continue to head out this morning to increase their total catch for the weekend, and also to try to catch one of two specially marked salmon. Bringing one of these in brings in one of the big prizes. The chances for winning one of these is probably about the same as winning a lottery.

Sunny and hot

Yesterday, we matched the record high for the day set in 1992. It was 68F in the afternoon, and as far as everyone in town was concerned, getting a little too warm for comfort. If I heard correctly, Elise said that there were some heat-related incidents yesterday...

The kids and I walked into town during mid-afternoon to visit the hospital for their 90th birthday celebration. There were snacks and a few prizes to be had.

By the time we returned home, we were beat from the heat. Our apartment gets quite a bit of afternoon sun, now that it is approaching the summer solstice. That means the indoor temp can reach 80F or more. It's definitely shorts weather, and pretty close to outdoor swimming weather.

Everyone here is happy to see that we are having spring, and hopeful that we will have a real summer instead of the soggy mess that was summer last year.

The skies are overcast today and some showers and rain forecast for the next couple of days. So it looks like our "heat wave" of temps above 65F only lasted a couple of days.

Elise's dad arrives this morning. Pastor Brown arrives this evening. And the annual Salmon Derby kicks off tomorrow and runs through Memorial Day.

Recital and Choir videos

Last evening, Amy and Shelley participated in the Spring recital for their piano, fiddle, and guitar instructions. The video can be viewed or downloaded by clicking here (right click and select "Save Target As..." to download). The video file is approximately 10.1 MB in size and requires a recent version of Windows Media Player. It is encoded at about 128 Kbps.

I also finally got around to encoding last month's choir performance at our church. This video can be downloaded by clicking here. The file size is approximately 5.7 MB in size.

Little Norway Festival 2007 Part 2

Yesterday afternoon was the Festival Pageant held at the High School gym. There were a number of (mostly) Norwegian related music, dances, songs, speeches, and poetry. Shelley performed as part of the Fiddleheads fiddle group. The governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, flew in to be part of the celebration (including an impromptu inclusion in one of the Norwegian dances when she was drafted by one of the Vikings to join in). The U.S. Coast Guard is the "big" military installation here, so they are the ones who bring out the flags and take them away.

This is definitely a small town. Even the big festival events have a very informal, intimate atmosphere. I also thought it was interesting that even for an event that would be considered "secular" in any other place, an invocation was given at the start by the Bible Church pastor.

This afternoon, I went out to Sandy Beach where the Rotary was holding their fundraising Seafood Bake & BBQ. For $25 I got a number of tasty salads and generous servings of king salmon, black cod, and halibut. I brought back home about half of it to finish later. Elise is working so she couldn't go, and the girls would have had to pay $12 each for not eating any fish... Though I suppose I could have had them take servings of the fish anyway for me to eat... I hadn't thought of that.

The High School Baccalaureate was held this evening at the High School auditorium. The Baccalaureate is where the members of the Christian Ministerial Association provide the graduating seniors with a sermon and a charge. This is the first time and place where I've encountered a religious (Christian) service for graduating public high school seniors. Maybe there are other towns and cities that do this, but if so, I've never heard of it.

My participation was to play the accompaniment to two of the hymns. When I was assigned those items originally, it wasn't clear if I was going to lead the singing or play the accompaniment. When I arrived this evening and spoke with the pastor organizing the program, he wasn't sure either. He had sort of assumed that there would be a piano and pianist, but you know how assumptions are often wrong. So it was that I ended up on the piano and he did the leading. I suspected that this might happen, so it was a good thing I came prepared with music and had practiced beforehand. It's been a while since I felt so nervous being up front.

Over the last several months, I've come to see that the line between what is common and what is sacred is a lot more fuzzy here. I think this is perhaps closer to the Biblical model of how life should be. When I read about the Christian life, it seems that there really shouldn't be a distinction between common and sacred. Rather, everything in a Christian's life should be an expression of worship. And in that respect, I think the Petersburg community gets closer to that than other places we've lived. Whether it is a celebration, a commemoration, a remembrance, or anything else, God is frequently a visible part of it.

Bible Reading 2007, Week 21

The readings this week are found in 2 Samuel 1-10; 1 Chronicles 10-17; and Psalms 42, 43, 46, and 46. These passages retell the glory days of Israel under David's kingship.

Sermon: Friendly Fire

(Click on above link to listen to MP3 audio.)

What happens when two Christian ministries, both who believe they are doing God's work, appear headed on a collision course? Or when one group of Christians see another group who appear more successful, what is the reaction of the one that is struggling?

The story of how John the Baptist responded to Jesus' ministry as recorded in John 3:22-36 sheds some light on how Christians today ought to respond to other Christians and their ministries, when some even seem to invade existing ministry turf.

Children's Story: Seals

Seals

Props: 1 or 2 reproductions of government seals, or seals on official documents.

This morning we're going to talk about seals. No, not the kind of seals that you find in the waters around here.

What I'm talking about are seals like these. [Show reproductions of government seals.]

What are these kinds of seals used for?
On government documents
On official correspondence

Can you think of some reasons why governments place these seals on important documents?
To identify the documents as being from the government (identification)
So the recipients can have confidence in the source of the document (affirmation)
To show that the bearer of the seal speaks for the government (authority)
To show that the document or item bearing the seal belongs to the gov't. (ownership)

In the part of the world we live in, we don't really give too much thought to seals. Today our signatures are often sufficient for conducting business. But in years past, seals were much more important in everyday life. Even today though, in some other parts of the world, seals are much more important.

For example, in the country where I was born, Japan, instead of signatures, seals are still used to identify, affirm, and to claim authority and ownership in transacting business.

Did you know that the Bible talks about seals too? In the last book of the Bible, called Revelation, we learn that God's people can be identified as His because they have God's seal on them.

Is God's seal something like the seal of the State of Alaska, or the seal of the City of Petersburg? Is it something that is stamped onto us? It is, but not in the way that you might expect.

The book of Ephesians tells us that the seal of God that identifies people as His is the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit lives in a person's heart, that person is then identified as belonging to God.

What's even more interesting is that people who love Jesus become seals themselves. We read in John 3:33 that "Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true." What this is saying is that anyone who learns to trust in Jesus become seals that identify and affirm that what Jesus says is true.
How does this happen?

It happens like this. When a person learns to love Jesus, she wants to spend more and more time with Jesus. When she spends more time, she becomes more like Jesus. Becoming more like Jesus means becoming more loving, patient, and kind with one another, even people that might annoy you at times -- even your sister or brother.

When a person begins to show that kind of love, other people around them begin to notice. They see that what Jesus said about loving one another really can be true.

So you see, when you learn to love and trust Jesus, you become seals that help show the world that Jesus' words are really true. You become seals that show to the world that you've made Jesus' words the rule (or authority) for your life, that you've made Jesus a part of your life, and that you identify yourself with Jesus kingdom.

The troublesome Stripey

Our big, 18+ lb. cat, Stripey, has been nothing but trouble today. Somehow, sometime, he snuck his way out of the apartment without any of us knowing (except our other cat, Vivvy).

About 2:30 or so this afternoon, Vivvy began to yowl and whine about something. Elise put her on a leash and she went out for a few minutes, but came in and continued to yowl very loudly. After a few minutes, I understood what she was saying -- this was her "Stripey is outside the apartment" yowl. And so we began a frantic search inside to locate Stripey -- which, obviously was unsuccessful.

Then we expanded the search outside, but he was nowhere to be seen. And with his cute, dainty voice, it certainly would not be heard, even if he were to make noises rather than cowering in fear. We search all around the apartment grounds multiple times. We went across the road to see if we could spot cat-like movement along the beach rocks. I took my bike and rode around several blocks to see if he had made his way away from the apartment.

In my initial search around the grounds, I came across a handful of locations that could hold a hiding, cowering cat. I searched around them but didn't find anything. It was about an hour later, searching the same area for the fifth or sixth time that I saw a little kitty head poking out in a little hole underneath a pile of concrete slabs on the next property. And there he was. He had found a hole just big enough where a dog wouldn't be able to get in, and where even a team of Bald Eagles would have a difficult time pulling him out.

Elise came by, so I had her work on Stripey while I went to search for Shelley who had gone off in her own search. We were all safely united a few minutes later.

We then rushed off to the parade pictured in the earlier posting.

After the parade, we came home, and then headed almost right back out for a picnic supper on the west side of the city.

Upon returning from the picnic, Stripey used the litter box -- sort of. He somehow used it backwards, so that his business landed outside the container, onto the floor, the rug, and the door.

How much trouble can an 18 lb. cat get into in a single day? From the looks of it, quite a bit. I've had just about enough of it.

Little Norway Festival 2007 Part 1

The annual Little Norway festival is in full swing this weekend. Last night we attended the Mitkof Mummer's annual melodrama in their continuing saga of Halibut Harbor. It was an entertaining bit of theater, though I think quite a bit of the inside jokes went past us. But even so, we found it amusing and enjoyable.

This afternoon was the march of the festival parade down Main Street. You'd almost think you were walking down Disneyland's Main Street with the crowds and noise so thick. Click on this link or the collage image to view the photo gallery from this afternoon.

Amy's Birthday Party

The theme of Amy's birthday party on Thursday was "chocolate chip cookies." So that's what she and seven other girls did -- make chocolate chip cookies. There were a few other activities besides that, including an unexpected Piñata from one of the guests.

Trying to find a place to hang the Piñata was a serious challenge. We discovered that throughout the entire church proprety, there are no naturally available locations to hang one. So we improvised by wrapping the rope around the roof of the church entry and making a makeshift crossbeam from rope from which we hung the Piñata.

Click on this link or the collage image to view the party photo gallery.

Old phones, new phones, wasabi almonds

I cancelled our cell phone service with Verizon Wireless today. Our contract expired at the end of last month, and I discovered that our monthly usage was falling below 30 minutes/month. I picked up a couple of prepaid cell phones that are currently on special -- free phones and no activation fee when purchased with $50 or more in prepaid minutes. We'll use these for basically emergencies, for Elise to take on-call calls, and for the kids to take along when they're about town on their own.

Of the two numbers that were activated, one of them didn't work completely until today. I could call out from it, I could call into it from the local landline, from another cell phone on the ACS network, but NOT from a number on the Cellular One network (on which my T-Mobile service roams). After spending an hour this morning myself with technical support, I took the phone back to the office where I purchased it and let them fight with it. It finally got working after someone at ACS figured out there were additional ports that had to be opened... whatever that means in cell-phone network speak.

Cell phone service is notoriously unreliable here. I've experienced outages that went longer than a day. Sometimes it's both service providers, sometimes it one or the other. So a landline is a must, and if you have more than one cell phone, it kind of makes to have them on separate networks.

While my sister was here, she found that we are able to get Blue Diamond Bold Wasabi & Soy Sauce Almonds at the convenience store. So she purchased a can for us and I've been hooked...

We began our search for a house today. We went into and looked at three today. We'll look at a couple more on Friday. There just aren't that many homes to choose from here, and none meet all of our needs and desires. We'll see how things go during the next days and weeks.

Groceries are getting really expensive...

This is one of the specials this week...

Cruise ship runs aground

The paddlewheeler cruise ship, Empress of the North, whose photo I posted a few days back, has run aground according to the story on the Anchorage Daily News site.

This story has also made the front page of the MSN site via MSNBC.

Week back and week ahead

Last Tuesday we had our last children's choir get-together for this season. With May and summer upon us, schedules get busy, school lets out, travel occurs, and things just don't lend themselves too well for weekly meetings. I'd like to get together a few times so that we can sing at the Manor (assisted living) and perhaps at the long-term care (nursing home).

If you're looking for a vacation in which you are forced to relax... this may be the place. That's what my sister and husband discovered (and enjoyed) about their visit here. It was "vacation" in the way it should be, but so often when we go on "vacation" we discover that we need a rest from our "vacation." That just isn't so when you come here. You simply cannot get yourself too busy here. You can walk, see and visit the entire city in about half a day. You can drive from one end of the island to the other in about the same amount of time (including time to get out and walk). You can take a flight tour or a boat tour that takes half to a whole day. But once the end of the day comes around, you are back at your hotel. There really isn't much nightlife, unless you're into bars... So if you're looking for a few days in which to walk along the rocky beaches, or tromp through some muskeg, splash about the rivers and creeks, watch the eagles soaring in the air, watch the boats sailing past, watch the tide go in and out... this may be the place.

We begin our house hunting this week. Not that there is much to hunt from, mind you. There are a couple of for-sale-by-owner properties, and about three listed with the Realtor that we are sort of interested in looking at. None of them, just looking at them, have jumped out at us yelling, "Buy me, buy me!" So we'll see how things go. We're looking for a house that has 3 or more bedrooms, more than 1 bathroom, a large living area, and a respectable kitchen (since I've lately found myself spending 2-4 hours most days in it). We want a large living area so that we can open up our home to different gatherings. There are people who are reluctant to come to church, but may be open to a gathering in a home. We would like to make that option available, but would need a sufficiently open space to do that comfortably.

The Little Norway Festival occurs from this Thursday through Sunday. We'll be out and about at some of the events that occur. I'm sure the city streets will be the busiest we've ever seen since our arrival.

Wishing all mothers a happy Mother's Day

A happy Mother's Day to our mothers in Alaska, Oregon and Japan; and to all other mothers that happen to drop in and read this.

It's Sunday so Elise is once again at work today. We'll see what, if anything, we do this evening.

Bible Reading 2007, Week 20

The Bible reading for this week is found in 1 Samuel 8-31 and Psalms 26, 27, 30, 44. The theme is once again Kings and Prophets. The readings focus on the rise and fall of King Saul, and David's stories during the time of Saul.

Sermon: A Chosen Disappointment

(Click on above link to listen to sermon audio.)

Today I spoke on the story of Samson and applied some of what is found to Mother's Day. Some might wonder how Samson's story could possibly be a source for Mother's Day.

I think that there are many mothers (and fathers, too) whose value and worth are inappropriately tied to their children. And when their children don't meet expectations, they might experience a letdown and a sense of failure. Samson's story is one where things should have turned out quite well -- godly, devout parents and God's Spirit working in Samson -- but it did not. It's a story with a warning that parents should not base their success as parents in how their children turn out.

Many mothers (and fathers) today have become known as "helicopter parents." They hover (and hover, and hover) over and around their children for fear that something might go wrong. I think that Samson's story is one that shows us that children must be allowed to drive their own lives.

Some mothers (and fathers) may have children who seem headed into ruin, or perhaps are already there. Samson's story is finally one of hope and encouragement, because God does not give up on anyone. Our God is a God who is able to rescue anyone who wants to be rescued.

Children's Story: Chosen by God

Chosen by God

A long time ago, in a town called Zorah, there lived a man and his wife. The man's name was Manoah. We're not told what his wife's name was. For our story today, we'll just call her "Jaffa" (pronounced Ya-fah). For many, many years they prayed to God for a child to be given to them. But no child came for many years.

Then one day while Jaffa was working out in the fields, a handsome and beautiful young man came up to her and told her that God was going to answer their prayers for a child. This man told her that this child would be a special child, one dedicated to God and who would work for God.

The man gave Jaffa instructions about what she was to do. She was no longer to eat and drink certain categories of food and drink. For the child, the man gave instruction that this child's hair was to never be cut. The hair would be a sign of the child's specialness to God.

During this time, Manoah and Jaffa's people, the Israelites, were being treated badly by the Philistines. The Philistines were a neighboring nation who worshiped other gods. The Philistines were stronger than the Israelites. Many of the Israelites, because it looked like the Philistine gods were stronger than their God, began to worship the other gods instead of their true God. The man who came to Jaffa told her that God was going to use her child to show to the Israelites that their God really was the stronger God, and also to the Philistines that their gods were no match for Israel's God.

After the man left, Jaffa ran to her husband, Manoah, to tell him about the man and the news that he brought. "A man of God appeared to me," she said. "He looked like one of God's angels, terrifying to see," she continued. "I didn't ask where he was from, and he didn't tell me his name. But he told me, 'You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must refrain from wine and all alcoholic beverages, nor must you eat any forbidden foods. Your son will be set apart for God from the moment of pregnancy until the day of his death.'"

Manoah thought maybe his wife was confused and had seen and heard things that really weren't there. So he asked God that if his wife was really telling him what happened, that this man would come to them once again. God answered his prayer by sending the man again to Jaffa. She ran to tell her husband that the man had come. Manoah went to see the man and after speaking with him, was convinced that Jaffa wasn't confused and had heard correctly the first time.

Manoah asked for this man's name and the man just told Manoah that his name was too Wonderful for him to really understand. (Did you know that many years later, Jesus would be known as "Wonderful?") Manoah brought some sacrifices to offer to God. As the sacrifices burned upon the rock where Manoah had placed it, a wonder happened. The man that was talking with them entered the flames and rose up to heaven in it.

Both Manoah and Jaffa became scared and fell to the ground. They realized that this wasn't just a man -- it was God himself that had come to speak with them. Manoah thought he was going to die, but Jaffa pointed out to him that if God wanted to kill them, why would he have accepted their offering and showed them this wonderful miracle, and promised them a son?

They returned home and Jaffa followed the instructions of God carefully. About a year later a boy was born to Manoah and Jaffa. They named this boy Samson. He grew up strong, but he was not the most obedient child around. He wanted to do his own thing. Manoah and Jaffa tried to teach Samson about God and how to live life in a way that would please him, but it seemed that Samson didn't really listen nor want to do that.

I'm sure Manoah, and especially Jaffa, had many moments when they became discouraged and probably felt some disappointment with Samson. Here was a special child from God, but it didn't look like he wanted anything to do with getting to know God, to come to Him, to be with Him, and to walk with Him. Maybe there were times when they thought God had made a mistake about choosing Samson to be his special person.

Samson did eventually come back to God. In the book of Hebrews, we learn that Samson is listed as one of the heroes who had faith in God. But before that happened, Samson made lots of mistakes that eventually resulted in his enemies taking out both his eyes to make him blind. His parents never learned about Samson's return to God. His parents died wondering what would ever become of Samson.

Boys and girls, your parents, and especially your mother, are always concerned and worried about what kind of adults you'll become. It's always better to learn to please your mother, father, and God early in life instead of later. That can save you from a lot of troubles later in life. But remember that even if you choose not to love and please God, God still loves you. Even if you choose to ignore him, he won't ignore you. God will keep trying to get your attention and do everything he can in order to bring you to where you will want to choose to love and please him. [E.g., the story of Jacob and God's pursuit of him.]

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. You might have cards or flowers or gifts you are giving to your mother. I'm sure she'll appreciate these tokens and symbols of your love for her. But the very best gift of love you can give to your mother is a commitment to her that with God's help you'll train to become the kind of person that pleases both her and God.

Family Visit

(Updated Friday to fix photo link.)

My sister and husband are currently visiting us. While Elise worked today, we drove out to Blind River/Slough in the rain. We walked out on the boardwalk to the river and rapids which you see in this photo.

We headed back to town, then past it towards Frederick Point on Frederick Road. I've never been past the first mile on this road. I discovered that there are a number of homes out this way. The roads are not plowed during the winter, and I don't think they have city utilities. The road continues to go up and eventually comes to a number of places where it is possible to take in the view of Frederick Sound. Unfortunately the skies were rather cloudy. We'll have to come up here again when skies are not quite so heavy with mist.

On the way back down we stopped at City Creek, a location where we walked last summer. Shelley and Amy immediately went into the creek. Actually, Shelley started to, slipped, and got wet and muddy, water filling her boots. But that wasn't enough to faze her. Both girls splashed about in the water and the rain for a few more minutes before we headed back home to dry clothes and warmth.

I prepared a couple of Indian dishes - lentils with spinach, and dry cooked curried potatoes -- plus a salad.

Shelley received a small set of bonsai tools from her aunt. Tomorrow, we plan to go out and see if we can locate a good bonsai tree specimen for Shelley. We found quite a few that would have made good ones out in the muskeg at Blind River Rapids. But I don't think the Forest Service would have liked to have them dug up.

May Photos

This was taken last week. The deer munch on the lawn, and then sit down to let it digest.

There are more than just fishing boats going by now. I've seen quite a few pleasure yachts and a few small cruise boats. Here's a sternwheeler cruise ship, Empress of the North, that went by today.

Petersburg Mountain is due SW from where I took this photo. During the summer the sun sets close to 90-degrees to the right, almost to the northwest. During the winter the sun sets off the left side of this photo. (As I'm writing this, a few minutes before actual sunset, the mist in the space between the foreground hill [that you see just on the right side] and Petersburg Mountain is glowing red.)

Here's looking out the other direction towards Frederick Sound. It was just an hour or so after high tide, so the current was fairly calm, and with no winds, the water was calm enough to reflect the clouds and mountains.

A few happenings

Here's another summary of things that have happened since the last update.

Thursday was the National Day of Prayer. The evening service was at the Baptist church, in which I was to take part in leading a few songs, and the children's choir was asked to sing a song. The congregational singing was to the accompaniment of a digital hymnal. It was an interesting experience trying to sing along to a very mechanical accompaniment. It would hold notes unexpectedly, and then not hold notes where it would be expected. The kids sang quite well -- much better than what I thought was going to happen after going through the rehearsal on Tuesday. On Tuesday there just wasn't much volume in their voices, and I didn't think they would be heard beyond the first few rows. But on Thursday things were much better.

This afternoon was the annual Blessing of the Fleet in which anyone who wishes to have their boat and their fishing work prayed can have that done by the pastors of Petersburg. It was an interesting service. It was indoors this year because the rain and wind was pretty strong. It is normally held outside, even with rain. Afterward there were refreshments. This was my first time inside the Sons of Norway Hall, one of the landmark buildings in the city.

Sometime after returning home, I was startled by a knock on the door. It was the lady for whom I translated some school transcripts for her boys. She works at one of the canneries in town, and she had with her a bag full of "kazunoko" (herring roe), a Japanese delicacy. I'm pretty sure these are fresh from a recent catch that came through the cannery. My sister and husband are arriving in a few days, so I've set aside a few to soak out the salt.

A month after the Good Friday service in which I took part and gave a short message, there are still people coming up to me telling me how much they appreciated the message. I can only credit the Holy Spirit with bringing all the pieces together for what I said, and for how I delivered it. The Adventist congregation here is tiny, but it appears that the work I am doing is having an impact beyond the walls of the Adventist church. I don't really expect that the Adventist church here will ever be that large, but if, through some of these community events, I can share a new perspective of God that some people haven't seen before, then I would consider our work here a success.

Bible Reading 2007, Week 19

The readings this week are found in 1 Samuel 1-7; Psalms 14-17; Proverbs 16-20; and 1 Chronicles 1-9.

Sermon: When Right Isn't

(Click on above title to listen to sermon audio.)

Based on Matthew 18:1-6, 10; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 15.

It is so easy to do or say something that results in children or someone new to the faith ("little ones," according to Jesus) receiving the wrong impression of God. The longer believers spend with other believers, the more calloused they become to insensitivities that could cause a huge wound in someone more inexperienced in faith. It might even result in spiritual death for someone.

The responsibility of watching and weighing to make sure that doesn't happen falls upon the more experienced believers -- those who are more mature in faith. But it seems that so often, those that have been Christians, supposedly walking with Jesus, for the longest time have become the most insensitive towards children and new believers. Some of Jesus' harshest words are directed against those that wound and kill, intentionally or not, his "little ones." We take a look at a couple of these admonitions from Jesus in this sermon.

(The responsive reading that is mentioned is Matthew 18:1-6, 10 and Mark 10:13-16.)

We need to remind ourselves that the more experienced disciples of Jesus must carefully watch their words and actions so that we do not become obstacles to God's children, his little ones, as they make their walk towards Jesus.

Children's Story: The Brothers

This story is meant to accompany tomorrow's sermon. Tomorrow, I'll be focusing on the value God places upon his children.

The story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 doesn't give any reasons why the younger son got tired of living at home, tired of his father, and therefore chose to leave. As I was thinking about it this week, the attitude of the older son at the end of the story triggered the speculation that led to the following story.

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Children's Story - The Brothers

Once upon a time, in a land quite different from ours, there were two brothers, Gary and Ken. Gary was older than Ken by five years.

They lived with their father and mother on a large estate. This estate was surrounded by orchards, vineyards, gardens and trees. A river ran through the property on one of its boundaries. There were numerous animals and livestock as well. The estate was cared for by the numerous hired servants.

Although the servants took care of all necessary tasks, the father believed it best for the boys, Gary and Ken, to learn the tasks and duties associated with running the estate and caring for it. As each became old enough to handle certain tasks, the father assigned to each appropriate responsibilities. These tasks involved such things as feeding and cleaning their animals, weeding and caring for the garden, sprucing up the landscape, trimming the vines, and so on.

The boys, being typical kids, did not particularly enjoy these daily responsibilities. They would have rather spent all their time running through the fields in spring, swimming in the river during the hot summer days, climbing through the golden trees of autumn, and having snowball fights with their friends in the winter.

During one of these times when the boys were working alongside one another, Ken began to complain particularly vociferously about the work. Ken was about seven and Gary, twelve.

Gary glared at Ken and in a loud whisper admonished, "Shush! Don't let dad hear you."

"Why not?" asked Ken.

"Because if you continue to whine like that, you'll get dad angry, and who knows what'll happen then! Just do what dad tells us, and everything will be okay."

Gary and Ken were adopted. They both knew that. What Ken didn't know, because he was still an infant at the time of the adoption, was that their birth parents were short-tempered, demanding, alcoholics, and abusive. It was up to Gary to keep Ken quiet, for when baby Ken started to cry and scream, Gary would inevitably be on the receiving end of some kind of vicious beating. Gary learned that in order to keep from being beaten, from being yelled at, and just to survive, he had to control Ken and to meticulously obey every command of his parents, however illogical and ludicrous they might be.

Even after arriving at his new home, Gary never got over the fear that his new parents might somehow explode in anger if he or Ken did something wrong. So Gary made sure that he would always do exactly what his father and mother asked of him, and he took it upon himself to make sure that Ken did so, too.

As the years went by, Ken entered his teen years. His resentment of his brother, Gary, grew stronger with each passing day. His fear and disdain for his father also grew. It seemed to Ken that Gary actually enjoyed being so "perfect" and enjoyed telling Ken what to do.

"Is Gary right about our dad?" wondered Ken at times. Ken wasn't as "perfect" as Gary seemed to be, and every now and then his father would have words of correction for Ken. Each time it happened, Ken would cringe inwardly, wondering if this was time he crossed the line and his father would finally explode into rage. That never happened, however. But that didn't seem to make any difference in Ken's mind about whether or not his father might someday.

A number of years passed by. Ken was now in his late teens. Gary was a young adult, responsible for helping run part of the estate, which he did exceptionally well. Ken, however, had become tired of living in fear and resentment, of both his brother and father. He determined that he could no longer live with them. His only choice, he believed, was to leave his family and home. For once, he wanted to live life as he pleased, outside the control of others.

One afternoon, Ken approached his father with trepidation and trembling. He demanded, "Father, I want my share of your estate now before you die." Ken stood with his arms crossed across his chest and looked defiantly towards his father, awaiting the lightning and thunder from his father to strike. But there was none.

If Ken had been more observant, he would have seen an expression of sadness and dismay in his father's face. But Ken was too obsessed with himself, his fear, and his desires.

"Ken," his father said softly. "Are you sure about this? It will take a few days to divide up the estate between you and your brother. If you're determined to go, I can't stop you. But think about what you're doing, for my sake, okay?"

Ken was surprised that there was so little reaction from his father. There was no way he would reconsider, however. His mind was made up. As soon as he had the title to his portion of the estate, he would be on his way.

The rest of this story is in the Bible, Luke 15:13-32:

[Read Luke 15:13-32 in a modern, dynamic-equivalence translation, e.g., ICB, NLT, TMSG.]

Children [or kids, or boys and girls], don't ever believe it when someone tells you that God only loves and accepts you when you are good and behaving well. The truth is that God loves all of you, all of the time. We are told in the Bible that Jesus had to scold some people, who like the older brother, Gary in this story, gave a false picture of God to the children and got in their way. I'm going to talk more about this in just a few minutes.

Children, always remember that just as Jesus loved to have children come to him when he walked on this earth, God loves to have all his children come to him today. It doesn't matter if you've been good or bad, whether you're clean or dirty, or whether you think you're acceptable to him or not. God wants you to come to him. Don't let anyone, whether it's someone else your age, an older youth, or even an adult tell you that you're not welcome to come to God to be with him. Don't allow anyone or anything to come between you and God. You are just as much a part of God's family as anyone else. In fact, as far as God and Jesus are concerned, you are more precious to them than me and all the other adults here.

Locks of Love

Shelley had her hair cut short today. She is donating her locks to Locks of Love. Word got around about this event to the city newspaper earlier this week. We got a call from them yesterday asking if we'd be okay if a reporter came out and wrote up a story for the paper about Shelley and Locks of Love. So this afternoon, at the salon (I wasn't there so I'm going on what I've been told), the Pilot reporter came to observe and write a story for the paper.

Here are the before and after photos.

A Sea Angel

Amy got a brine shrimp kit for her science experiment. With that set up, she proceeded to go down to the Narrows to see what else she could find. She came back with some snails and a sand flea.

And then Shelley got into the act and discovered an interesting creature. I thought it looked like a little translucent angel swimming around in the water. After a bit of Googling and such going from one article to another trying to figure out just this creature is, I came across an entry for (drum roll...) Sea Angel.

Here is a close-up photo. The actual size is somewhere around 2 cm.