Today is Tuesday, June 6, 2006.  I am supposed to have text study at Shalom Hill Farm today, but I don’t think I am going.  I have some visits up at the nursing home and a home visit with a person who is somewhat homebound.  I also plan to do some reading.  I will more than likely get some coffee at my favorite coffee place here in Jackson.  I might even practice some piano (since I haven’t practiced for a few days). But it is also a strange Tuesday for me.  Normally I would be doing some sermon prep, but I am not preaching on Sunday; actually I am gone all weekend to the SW MN Synod Assembly in St. Peter, MN.  But other than that, this is a run of the mill day.  It is Tuesday, June 6, 2006; just another day in the year 2006 in the month of June.  That’s it.

But there have been some bigger moments to happen on this day in history:  In 1660 Denmark and Sweden sign a peace treaty; 1673 – France and Brandenburg sign a peace treaty; 1744 – France and Prussia sign a peace treaty. So far this is sounding like a peaceful day in the history of June 6.   Other events that happened are:  1844 – The YMCA is formed in London; 1850 – Levi Strauss made his first pair of blue jeans and in 1916 voters in East Cleveland approve women suffrage.  That is a very partial list of some of the "positive" things that have happened on this day.  There have also been some "negative" things to happen on this day (but that is no different than any other day of the year).  Today is Tuesday, June 6, 2006.

In case you have missed the point so far today is Tuesday, 6-6-06.  You know, 666, the mark of the beast as it is described in the Book of Revelation.  Some people see this day as the day of the beast, but for me it is just Tuesday, June 6, 2006.  It is no different than any other day.  Hollywood is trying to make this day bigger than it really is by releasing the horror flick, "The Omen" today.  Hollywood never releases movies on a Tuesday.  It is because it is 6-6-06 and apparently that carries special meaning for people; a marketing ploy to make more money.  Got to love good ole Hollywood; make something out of nothing.

In John chapter 15 and 16 Jesus talks about sending us the Holy Spirit.  He also says the ruler of this world has been condemned, defeated, and over-thrown.  We do not belong to this world, but we have been chosen from this world to be witnesses.  We were chosen through the cross.  So if all of this is true (and it is!) this day is a special day, like any other day.  The day of the beast?  Hogwash!!!  The beast has been condemned, defeated and over-thrown by Christ himself.  This is not an evil day, but it is a day that the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it.  We have a habit of making something out of nothing.  Rejoice and be glad.  Jesus has overcome the world.  Satan has lost. Death has been defeated; and the beast, well, to hell with him.  This is a day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.  Praise be to God and Amen.

P.S. Do you want to know some other events that happened on the other days that share the date 6-6-06?  Well…according to www.historyorg.com (a web site where you can find out significant events on any day in history) NOTHING of any "evil" significance has happened on this day.

Monday morning is here.  Please excuse me if I get too random; I am still working on my coffee.  Anyway, sorry I have not updated this site for a couple days.  My wife and I were in Cloquet for my cousin’s wedding.  What a fun time that was seeing family we have not seen for a while.  But the highlight for me, other than seeing my cousin get married, was spending time with my parents, sister, brother-in-law and niece.  My niece, Meara, needed a little time to warm up to Connie and me, but once she did, she kept us running.  I forgot how much energy a two year old has. 

On Saturday the family took Meara to the park and we played on the equipment.  That was a lot of fun for Meara; so much so that when we decided it was time to go Meara had one of her two-year-old fits.  But the fit soon passed; then we were off to the pool.  This was Meara’s first time in a pool so it was fun watching her experience this.  She loved it.  Soon I decided that she should not have all the fun so I got my suit on and jumped in.  Actually I did a huge cannonball; water everywhere.  Apparently Meara loved it; she couldn’t stop giggling.  Then Meara decided she wanted to try that and ran to the deep end.  Of course we would not let her jump in and that made her mad.  Where ever she went there I was waiting to catch her or someone on the pool deck was right next to her.  But Meara wanted to jump in without any help and screamed when we got close.  Eventually Connie decided Meara needed to experience what she was trying to experience.  She grabbed Meara and tossed her into the pool…<pause for effect>…don’t worry; Connie tossed Meara to me so I could catch her.  Meara went under a little bit and then cleared the water from her face.  We were sure that this would satisfy her curiosity, but no.  Meara immediately started fussing and wanted to do it again…this time with no help.

But you know, people are no different than Meara.  Here we are stopping Meara from literally jumping into the deep end when we as adults do that all the time.  We take chances, try new things, go out onto a limb and risk it all.  No one is there to stop us and if they were, we might throw a two-year-old fit as well.  So we jump in; often times not knowing the risks.  But when it comes to God, our attitudes change.  But here is some good and encouraging news; here is the fun part, "Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10:23)  I love that verse.  Any verse that reminds me that God is not going to let me down is awesome.  I mean think about it; when we take chance (for God) God will be faithful to keep us from "going under".  When we "jump into the deep end" and love someone we are scared to love (for God) God will be faithful if or when we get hurt.  When we "dive in" and serve one another (for God) God will be faithful to give you strength.  We take chances in life and jump into the deep end, why don’t we do that for God?  God is faithful and will not let you "drown".  Jump in; love someone who others have labeled unlovable; serve one another; welcome the stranger. Let’s have the bravery of a two-year-old and jump in (for God)…for God is faithful. Amen!

Last night a new spelling bee champion was crowned.  My wife and I along with a couple friends of ours watched the last two contestants duke it out for the title "Scripps National Spelling Bee Champ".  Believe it or not it was quite exciting.  A word is given (always one I have never heard before).  The contestant then usually repeats the word and then asks for a definition.  Then they might say the word again (to make sure they don’t forget I guess) and then ask for the language of origin.  With all that information they are able to piece together how the word should be spelled.  Now…if that is not impressive, I do not know what is.  In the end, a 13 year old girl from New Jersey won the title by spelling u-r-s-p-r-a-c-h-e.  She was making her fifth and final appearance.  FIVE TIMES!  WOW!  You have to be good to even make it to this event.  Very impressive.

Then this morning I was watching Sports Center on ESPN (Ooooh, big surprise).  At the end of each Sports Center they show the Top Ten plays from the day before in the world of sports.  At number 6 was the 13 year old girl from New Jersey winning the spelling bee title.  Number 6???  That’s it???  Numbers 5 through 1 contained nice looking catches from baseball, a hockey goal and a college girl striking out 18 batters in a softball game.  If they are going to include the spelling bee champ in their top ten list, shouldn’t they be number 1?  I guess that goes to show you what is more important in our society.  We value great "athletic" feats over intelligence.  I guarantee you that this 13 year old girl had to work harder than any of these athletes.  Imagine standing on a stage with millions of people watching trying to spell:  u-r-s-p-r-a-c-h-e

That can not be easy, yet she is deserving of only number 6.  That is sad.  What message is being sent to our kids?  I have kids who miss church because of sports.  I have kids where sports are the bread and butter of their lives.  These kids have been taught that you need to succeed in sports to be somebody.  Their parents are not necessarily pressuring them, but society is.  Look at the state legislature.  They have been spending way too much time talking about sports stadiums.  Give me a break.  Let’s talk about getting more money for education so we can see more kids that can spell    u-r-s-p-r-a-c-h-e in their sleep.  Something needs to change.  Sports lasts for only a moment, but education lasts for a lifetime.  Our priorities are way messed.

Excuse me a second as a climb off my soapbox…<pause>…there I am back.  But one more thing before I go, in the end let’s not lose what is really important.  Jesus said, "Where your treasure is there you will find your heart".  Where is your treasure?  Have a great weekend and God bless.

I got a call last night from my mom.  She told me that they were close to selling their lake cabin.  This would make number three.  That’s right…three lake cabins built and three lake cabins sold.  Most people have normal hobbies like collecting stamps, coins or, in the case of my wife, Precious Moments.  But my dad’s hobby is building things, in particular, lake cabins.  I am not sure why I am even thinking about this and allowing you to peer into my thoughts.  I only spent a few hours at this last cabin.  A couple of those hours were spent helping my dad put up siding.  The other time was spent showing my wife the un-completed cabin.  I never saw it completed.   But it is not this cabin I am missing; it is the first one my dad built.  That was a fun one.

My dad’s first cabin was built while I was in high school.  It was a nice looking A-frame style cabin on a beautiful part of Big Stone Lake along the Minnesota/South Dakota border.  We had lots of neighbors and there was plenty of activity, yet it was a quiet get-a-way.  But what I remember most was the number of other family members and friends that came to spend time at the lake.  Grandpa and grandma came every summer with their motor home and spent at least a week there.  Aunts and uncles and cousins came to visit and spent time at the lake.  We had "mammoth" fires (got to love the word "mammoth" — see my sunflower post from yesterday).  We explored the lake in canoes and paddleboats.  We water skied and fished.  I loved that lake cabin.  We had lots of fun and created a lot of memories.

But wait, it is not the cabin itself I loved, but the time spent with people.  A lake cabin is made with wood and nails and will eventually pass away, but time with people is built with love.  And love will not pass away.  Our society places so much emphasis on buildings and structures; so much so that if a building is lost, so are the people.  It is sad that we connect emotions and memories to materials that will not last.  Just talk to a community that has been destroyed by a tornado.  The people are devastated at first, but they vow to rebuild.  The community is not defined by the buildings it has, but is defined by the people living there.  People make a community; people make a family.  Sure, buildings and structures trigger memories and fond times with friends and family, but those memories should not be connected to those structures.  Those memories will not disappear with the buildings.  Those memories only disappear if you do not share them with one another.

Let’s move away from worshipping buildings to a point where they are set as gods in our life that cannot be touched.  Lets move to loving people and focusing on people.  I loved those cabins that my dad built but only in what they represented.  I will never forget those times at Big Stone Lake and I am sure other memories will be made in the future.  A building is a building that lasts only for a moment, but people last forever.  That’s right; we will last forever, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

My wife and I went shopping the other day for seeds because we are getting ready to plant our garden.  We don’t plant a big garden, but we like to try to grow a few things.  Last year our garden was not a huge success.  We planted corn, beans, carrots and cucumbers.  Only the cucumbers really turned out.  So this year we are trying some new things.  We are going to plant cucumbers again due to our success last year and beans.  We are also planting spinach and pumpkins.  That will be fun.  I have dreams of producing some huge pumpkins worthy of the county fair, but I am guessing they will barely be big enough to carve for Halloween.  But there is one more thing we are planting.  As we were looking through the seeds I came across sunflowers.  Not just any ordinary sunflowers but mammoth sunflowers.  Wow!  You put the word "mammoth" in front of anything a man wants to buy and you had better watch out.  I turned to my wife with a big grin on my face holding the sunflower seeds.  She just rolled her eyes at me (I can’t imagine why).  "You want to plant sunflowers? Why?"  I responded, "Because sunflowers are neat and different.  Please."  She said, "What ever."  Now we have sunflowers (I mean, MAMMOTH sunflowers).

But here is the real story behind sunflowers and me.  As a child a remember fields and fields of sunflowers, as far as the eye could see, near my grandparents farm.  Maybe there weren’t that many, but it sure seemed that way.  I thought they were the most beautiful thing; many because we did not have them around Dawson.  Then one day I noticed something.  As I was riding past my favorite sunflower field with my grandparents I noticed that they were facing a different direction.  Being the curious kid I was I asked grandpa about it.  He told me that sunflowers don’t only look like the sun, but they follow the sun as well, hence the name, sunflower.  Where ever the sun is in the sky, the sunflower will follow it.  That I thought was pretty cool. 

Wow! Even simple little sunflowers know how to follow the sun. Seriously, do I really need to write anymore?  Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6)  I guess we can learn a lot from sunflowers…just follow the Son. Amen!

I have learned two very important things when shopping with my wife.  First, if we are shopping in Sioux Falls, let her drive.  She lived in Sioux Falls for seven years and knows the back roads.  She also has a system and schedule to maximize our time there.  But most importantly, I do not know how to drive in Sioux Falls; I am too much of a small town driver…to conservative.  So if I want to keep her happy, let her drive.  The second thing I have learned is that I do not have to go into every store we stop at.  Stores like Hallmark, Linens-n-Things, Hobby Lobby and the like are stores that do not interest me.  If I go in I end up getting bored and maybe a little cranky.  Eventually my wife will say, "Alright, we can go.  You’re getting crabby".  Now she is not having fun and then I feel bad.  So here’s what I do.  My wife drives (in Sioux Falls) and I hold the list.  When we get to a store that does not interest me (like the ones named above) I stay in the car and read, people watch or make phone calls.  Stores like Wal-Mart, Kohl’s and (or course) Best Buy, I go in.  This way Connie can shop as much as she wants and we both stay happy.  The day is much more enjoyable for both of us and we don’t end up driving home wishing the other person was riding in the trunk. 

I am not sure why it took me so long to figure this out.  It almost seems like common sense.  I mean, we employ this very tactic in our lives all the time, especially when it comes to God.  God leads us places and we decided whether we want to "go in".  We are concerned with our own interests and figure that God only makes suggestions in our lives, not commands.  We see the path that God is leading us on. It looks dark and difficult so we either grab the wheel from God or jump ship.  We say "See you later.  Pick me up when you are coming back this way." We don’t trust God because we are so self-centered.  Isaiah 55:8-12 says "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. " 

God’s ways are higher than ours and far beyond us.  God knows what is best.  But more importantly, when God’s Word goes out, it will accomplish what it set out to do.  God’s Word will not fail.  Don’t resist God’s guidance.  We may not like where God leads sometimes. But God does know what he is doing and God will not forsake you.  So next time, "go in" and hold God’s hand.  Trust God’s guidance and wisdom.  You just might be surprised in what God "bought" for you. (In case you don’t know, God "bought" everlasting life FOR YOU though Jesus Christ our Lord.)  Amen.

I like camping like the next guy, but some people like it a little too much (at least as far as I am concerned).  I was talking with a parishioner the other day and they were telling me that they were going camping this coming weekend; one of the busiest camping weekends of the year.  The campground they are going to fills up very quickly and they do not take reservations so it is first come first serve.  You have to get there early and take your chances.  This person then told me that some people had there campers at the campground last Sunday and left them there all week to ensure they had a spot.  But the thing is they had to pay for the spot all week…and they are not even using it.  They just wanted to place their stake on their camping spot and then live a worry free life all week long knowing their spot was reserved.

Isn’t that how many Christians live now days.  They feel that since their place in heaven is assured that they can go on living a worry free life; living how they want saying "God will forgive me".  But is that what God wants?  Paul in his letter to the Romans asks, "Should I go on sinning so that grace may abound?  Certainly not." (Romans 6:1) That is not the point of the Gospel.  The cross is not some "get out of jail free card".  The cross is not some insurance policy to tuck away for a rainy day.  The cross means life and salvation.  It means forgiveness for the penitent and repentant heart.  If you believe in your heart that you are saved then good works are going to follow.  Don’t look at the cross as a magical shield against death, but see it as a point of proclamation.  See it as a promise.  See it as a source of strength against the struggles of the world.  See the cross as a place where Jesus gave his all for us.  And with that, why would we not want to serve him through serving and loving others?  Why would we want to just sit back knowing others need to hear this message?  That does not make sense to me.  Live as if you are thankful for you have a lot to be thankful for.  Praise be to God and Amen!

If you want to truly know the heart of a person, listen to them pray.  No I am not saying that you should eavesdrop on people or read their prayer journals.  What I am saying is that our heart becomes visible to the world when we pray because in prayer you have to open your heart and give it to God.  When we keep our heart closed in prayer we will not experience the greatness of God through answered prayer.  That is why keeping a prayer journal is so important.  You can journal what you are praying for and then write down how God has been answering your prayers.  You will be amazed at what you find.  This is one way we can be encouraged that God does indeed listen and goes with us in this life.

Another way we can be encouraged is by taking a glimpse of Jesus’ heart has he prays to God for his disciples (and us) in John 17.  Jesus doesn’t pray for God to take us out of the world (even though taking us out of the world would save us a lot of pain).  Jesus prays for God to protect us from the evil one.  Jesus prays that we would know the truth and proclaim that in this world.  Jesus prays that after he is gone from this world that we continue his ministry.  Jesus has made God’s name known to us and thus we are to do the same with others.  Jesus knows that without us, the Kingdom of God goes no where.  We have a special place in Jesus’ heart.  He does not want us to suffer but when we do we can take comfort in the fact that God will not let the evil one beat us down.  Jesus knows this world will hate us and will fight us with their dying breath.  Jesus knows that the life of a Christian will not be easy.  So Jesus opens his heart and makes his prayer know to God and us so we can be assured that God will give us everything we need. When we are called by God to share the Good News, nothing and I mean nothing will stop that from happening.  And guess what, you have been called.