Kirby, the dog, says: “Go vote now for my namesake!
An important reminder from Scottius Maximus:
“…who is the face of your city? Your franchise?
MLB’s Hometown Heroes vote is taking place right now. From the website:
“Cast your vote for the most outstanding player in each club’s history…”
You can also enter to win 2006 World Series Tickets.
Go now and vote for the Puck. Kirby the dog says so!
Let me tell you this. Even though you know the Word perfectly and have already mastered everything, you are daily under the dominion of the devil, and he does not rest day or night in seeking ot take you unawares, and to kindle in your heart unbelief and wicked thoughts against [all God’s]commandments. Therefore, you must constantly keep God’s Word in your heart, on your lips and in your ears. For where the heart stands idle and the Word is not heard, the devil breaks in and does his damage before we realize it. On the other hand, when we seriously ponder the Word, hear it and put it to use, such is its power that it never departs without fruit. It always awakens new understanding, pleasure, and devotion, and it constantly creates clean hearts and minds. For this Word is not idle or dead, but effective and living. ~ Martin Luther
From All Washed Up, RevFisk writes:
So writes Luther on the importance of hallowing the day of rest by attending to the preaching of God’s Word, not as entertainment or out of compulsion, but because, frankly, the devil is real, and he wants to kill you and see you dead and forever in pain pain pain. He will never stop this pursuit. It is his ultimate goal. It is his lust to have you tortured along side himself in the fire that never quenches and brimstone where worms do not die.
With such a powerful enemy, is it not good to have a much more powerful friend?
Today is our twenty-second wedding anniversary. We will celebrate tonight with dinner and a show at a nearby dinner theater. We are seeing “Singing in the Rain”. Will there be real rain? Will the guy dance as well as Gene Kelly?
Other notable “22’s”:
*The 22nd episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation includes a very memorable quote:
Picard: “Beverly, the Prime Directive is not just a set of rules; it is a philosophy, and a very correct one. History’s proved, again and again, that whenever mankind interferes with a less developed civilization, no matter how well-intentioned that interference may be, the results are disastrous.”
*The 22nd episode of my favorite 60’s show, The Dick Van Dyke Show: Buddy’s wife is out of town and sleeps at the office because he is lonely, Rob invites Buddy to at Rob’s place. Buddy begins to drive Rob and Laura crazy by putting Larry to sleep with the cello. The next morning Rob finds the newspaper ripped as well as the mail (Larry is trained to bring both in). Buddy makes breakfast in the same pan she made liver & bananas and Laura takes 3 hours cleaning off the walls. Sally says Pickles is back! Laura and Rob can’t get used to the quiet!
*Set in the 22nd century, one of my favorite movies is Judge Dredd. He must have been a closet Lutheran with the memorable quote of “Emotions… there ought to be a law against them.”
Kirby, the pampered suburban black lab, acheived another first today. We were walking along one of our usual trails and he was intensely tracking some invisible scent. He stopped and pointed hard toward a dense area of shrubs that grow down an old railroad embankment toward people’s backyards. The sky was clear and bright; it was hot and sunny for 7:30am. It was very quiet…unusually quiet, although lots of homes line the trail. Kirby stood stiffer and stiller than ever before and the hair on his back began to stand up. I began to wonder if people ever mysteriously disappear while walking their dogs. Then Kirby barked. Not a puppy-league yelp, but a full-fledged, deep-voiced, adult male “WOOF!”. His bark disapated my fears, he forgot about what he saw and we kept on walking. When I got home, I told my sleepy teenaged son about the exciting milestone and he said, “Oh, he was barking like that at the neighbor’s dog yesterday. I forgot to tell you.”
Why would a dog want to run down into the basement, a brand-new basement with nice carpet and beautiful pine woodwork, madly run around, poop in a corner and then run back upstairs? Why?
Did you know the Mets won the World Series this year? The Babe Ruth League’s Mets, that is. Here are a couple of my favorite players…
Exciting stuff…
My camera phone continues to do an adequate job of photo-posting. Here are some shots of a nice park next to a hockey rink. I’m not sure if it’s Kirby’s favorite park or mine. The fact that it has a Starbucks nearby might be a clue.
The Internet Monk posts an interesting piece, The Missionary Headache, on the presence of missionaries TO America. I have NO idea who he is talking about. Please read it and enlighten me. If he’s talking about the post-modern movement people, (Willow Creek, etc), I strongly believe that they are the ones who need a missionary.
Michael writes:
….That church in Chicago really messed with the way I thought about church. They were being “missional” before anyone knew the word. They were the “new way of thinking” that is now going on all around us.
The difference is that we aren’t applauding or helping or praying for these new missionaries in America. A lot of evangelicals are scared to death of what they are doing and the thinking behind it. Some evangelicals believe these missionaries are the enemy. They are fisking their web sites, negatively reviewing their books and giving the snarky head-shake to their successes….
They are missionaries to America. They are all around you. And there are more coming. God is sending them, because God isn’t invested in church culture, church staff or church buildings. The church of Jesus is a cross-cultural movement of church planting. It is a missional movement. Read more
“Some evangelicals believe these missionaries are the enemy.” Well, that would describe me, partially. I believe that these missionaries are self-proclaimed missionaries, not likely sent by God but by their own reasonings. I don’t believe they are THE enemy, but they are suiting The Enemy’s purpose to make sure that we are not found strong in the grace that is Christ Jesus. I don’t purposely point out those churches anymore…been there, done that. However, I’ll keep the message of those missionaries away from my children, out of my home and out of our church. (Yes, I realize that the message of “Just give me Jesus” is already everywhere and my kids have heard it a million times). I’ll also keep bringing the unchurched to my church because they often actually WANT to hear the gospel preached in the ancient style, away from the trapping of the post-modern movement.
Just one mom’s thoughts…
In an off-topic discussion from a Lutheran discussion board, which mostly hashes church issues ad naseum and sometimes without purpose and sometimes inappropriately, comes this brilliant gem:
Pastor asks:
“While this isn’t strictly a “Lutheran” topic, I’m concerned about the physical, emotional, and spiritual health of my older Lutheran parishioners who spend nearly their entire day sitting in front of the TV set.
Admittedly, most of these individuals have limited physical mobility, but such lethargy just makes their situation worse. I’m wondering how both pastor and laypeople can help our older adults break free from the addictive spell of the “Boob Tube”?”
Good answers:
1. Find ways to get them out of the house if only for a short while. Or if that’s impossible, organize regular phone calls. An hour a week, if you like, but make it an hour/a person they can count on. Many elderly, with/without limited mobility, are dying for somebody to talk to! I use the verb purposely.
2. Pastor has hit upon something very important. There is a Lutheran concern here too. In past years old people were the most trustworthy defenders of Lutheran orthodoxy. Now, thanks to brainwashing by watching hours and hours of … TV preachers, the old people, particularly the little old ladies are, generally speaking, a mixed-up bunch. One little, old Lutheran lady after watching hours and hours of Pat Robertson, told me once that the Palestinian people have to be destroyed or Jesus isn’t coming back. I am of the opinion that Joel Osteen markets himself to appeal to the erotic/romantic fantasy life of female senior citizens and a Lutheran old lady of my aquaintance rhapsodizes about the guy. Sophisticated people may think of Osteen as a joke, but old Lutheran ladies who live in isolated rural communities may have a different opinion. Osteen’s constant boring ramblings in public about how much he loves his wife is just the kind of blather the blue-haired set loves to hear.
Thankfully, only one person recommended getting the elderly started on the internet and was gently shot down by the other board participants. I find the comment about Osteen interesting because every time I’ve accidentally heard his program, I found him insulting his wife. How strange.
For my own family, the biggest concern I have is when the TV is on, blasting advertisements for all to hear long after we have finished watching our show, but no one is actually watching nor even in that room. Ummm, excuse me while I go turn off the TV and turn on the radio…
Interesting thought over at Norman’s Demense:
“A problem left to itself dries up or goes rotten. But fertilize a problem with a solution — you’ll hatch dozens.”
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