It is a powerful verse. One that, hopefully, spurred each of us to make a similar, Godly choice. Yet, what is the evidence. Many families do not stay close together geographically nor to the family-church; we’re spread out over different parts of the state or country. In other words, we can’t decide for our children which congregation / denomination will appeal to them, their children (our grand-children) or that they will even join. NOR can we dictate how active or deep their faith-life will be. Of course, trying to do that when they were living under our roof was difficult enough. Church is usually “boring” (according to them); partying / working on weekends “necessitated” sleep-ins on Sundays.

How do we EITHER keep our kids in church OR increase the odds of their joining a church when they are 20- or 30-something? Much of it is somewhat easier IF our kids “stay around” here. It is more natural for them to continue to come here. In fact, I have not served a parish in 30 years in which I commune as many families of 3-generations on a given Sunday – sometimes even 4 generations. Even so, young people need to be given a “choice” about where to worship – and I say, hopefully they will be active somewhere and that with their experience here in KFC and Cat Classes, they will judge prospective churches on the basis of good theology, hymnody, preaching, teaching & serving and fellowship they received here in this or any Lutheran church.

However, there are so many other, different factors involved. Not the least of which is who they meet and marry. “Mixed (religious) marriages” are pretty common these days. And, sometimes, families have special needs for certain children (parochial school or learning disabilities) that dictate member-ship choices. Whatever it is, we hope, don’t we, that they will have a relationship with the Lord and be a faithful follower of Jesus – pleasing God…while pleasing us as well.

What happens is (worldly) Life. St Paul describes it: “our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers… the authorities… the cosmic powers of this present dark-ness, against the spiritual forces of evil…” (Eph 6:12) Somewhere along the road of life – there are “distractions”…careers, payments, selfish desires, more fun pursuits, and deceptions. These, one assumes, we have overcome OR are battling & winning some of them ourselves. For our child-ren, the battle rages… we can’t fight that battle for them – if they are fighting at all. So we hope and pray for them every day and every night in every way. And we can point them in the right “direction” – to a church or to a counselor or to a Cause that might rescue.

This also follows news of our “saving” the Loganville Elementary School – at least for another school year. But that may not be the case next Spring. Already we have “LOST” our bank and Feed Mill and one bar. Fortunately, Thieding Construction and St Peter’s seem to be holding on strong.

I was talking with a twenty-something recently as he mentioned these closings. I agreed it was devastating for our little, close-knit community and that we couldn’t handle much more bad news. I also remarked that we had to keep the church strong & vital so it wouldn’t be another ‘victim’. He was surprised that I even thought the church could be affected…and then he realized it is also a possibility.

I guess we never realize how some things are dependent on our support. Don’t we all think that it is our right as citizens of this country that we at least have our own Elementary School? And it has been a great asset for us and for our children. But it could ‘go by the way’ as with so many other things that sustained small towns & communities in the past. Things we always thought “defined” us and made us special. We don’t realize it UNTIL it might be “taken” or “closed”. (Like the Schulze dealership in Reedsburg – through no fault of their own, they may be re-defined soon, too.)

BUT THE CHURCH TOO is susceptible to changes WITHIN and BEYOND our control. We need to continually focus on our UNITY in Christ and our MISSION to the world. As we do those things that Christ leads us to do – locally and globally – our efforts will be blest. YOU also need to PARTICIPATE in those activities whole-heartedly = LIKE worship and KFC and VBS, Choir and Quilting, Study and Prayer and Stewardship.

There are good signs of our vitality = numerous Baptisms already this year, and new members are transferring in because they feel a real WELCOME here and PURPOSE. Let us EACH re-commit to supporting our congregation and the Church of Jesus Christ with our worship attend-ance and financial giving. It will keep you grounded and us connected. After all, we have seen things happening in our society we never thought would or could happen…with devastating ripples throughout. Let that NOT be what happens to our beloved St Peter’s Lutheran Church.

Now the “final draft” will be before our Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis, August 17-23. Thus, a “final decision” will be made at that time – after which Synods and Congregations will need to make decisions to comply with or reject the (possibly new) policies of the ELCA regarding our Human Sexuality and practices of ordaining men and women into ministry. No, this is not an easy discussion to have…but it is a necessary one for all of us.

Thus, as the time approaches, I believe this is the best time to gather together as God’s People here at St Peter’s, Lville, to begin studying the Statement and sharing our concerns in relative calm. By that I mean, in August, during the Assembly, the media will be covering this subject as it progresses through the Assembly. If true-to-form and from past experience, the media will sensationalize these deliberations in a divisive manner – after which “calm” discussion may not be so easily achieved. That is why I am offering 3-Sessions (minimum) for our reading & sharing about it.

On Wednesdays – July 22, July 29 and August 5, at 7:30pm – we will gather as a congregation to study & share. I have especially asked that all the Church Council attend, since this will be a “hot topic” in every congregation’s life (like women-in-ministry was in the 60’s, or slavery in the 1800s). As leaders and members of the Body of Christ and this congregation, we need to know what the Statement actually says and be clear what is being RESOLVED. I hope all of you, especially those with some knowledge of the Statement’s history & strong feelings about it, will attend at least these three sessions. There will be readings available in the narthex, before & after each session, to help inform you of the next session’s topic(s). More sessions may be added, depending on interest.

I suggest we begin on the less controversial issues contained in pages 19- 34 (of the 34 page Statement – and an additional 18 other / more pages). Those pages will be copied and available on the hybrid table in the Narthex – as we divide the Statement for each Session of study.

Hummm, it must have been just before Palm / Passion Sunday that Vicky and I were talking when she made a casual, reassuring remark that “things will slow down after Easter”. Ahhhh, no. And I reminded her it won’t be till after May. It is in May that we have 1st Communion, Mother’s Day, Confirmation and Senior Grad Recognition Sundays – not to mention that I’d be gone two of those Sundays between Easter and Confirmation (and that complicates life too). So, here it is: finally JUNE. Praise be…oh, and let’s get ready for VBS (June 22-25).

The last several months have been hectic with Holy Week & “May” and with several church wed-dings & our son’s wedding in Eau Claire (not to mention become grandparents AGAIN). But having just concluded Confirmation Sunday – confirming 7 8th graders – I began thinking about my minis-try and all the special Services & Seasons & Rites I get to preside at in the chancel. I was talking with Glenn on our ride to our HomeTalent Baseball game (to umpire together), when I blurted out that I thought my “favorite” ‘special service’ was Confirmation – technically: Affirmation of Baptism.

Seasons of the Church Year are a different matter. Christmas is a short season – with lots of pressures (internal & external) for me as a pastor / preacher. Lent is good…but kinda gloomy, though I like many of the hymns. Easter is ‘bright’ and positive and lasts a week of Sundays. Pentecost is LONG: from about Memorial Day to Thanksgiving. I could make a case for Advent being my favorite season, but I have decided that the season of Epiphany is my FAVORITE with its texts, themes and hymns.

Special Services include Christ the King, Reformation, Thanksgiving, All Saints, Transfiguration, Ash Wednesday; Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday & Good Friday, Pentecost and Holy Trinity: each lifts up a different event or occasion in Jesus’ life and I like them well enough. But, Special Rites are different altogether. They include: Baptisms, Weddings, Funerals, New Members, Installations, Service of Healing (anointing & laying on of hands), presiding at 1st Communion, Communion and Shut-In communions. They each have their ‘rewards’ and blessings for me too.

But I think Confirmation is my “favorite”…because, well, it’s a celebration; a hopeful time, it’s the result of much effort and commitment on the part of kids, parents, church and me; we can talk about our calling in life according to God’s purposes; and there are some moving hymns about that life & calling. Oh, and it’s a photo-op (I always like those). And this past Confirmation Sunday was not exception. We have spent many years in church and KFC and Cat Class preparing them to commit to taking on adult-responsibility for their Christian faith and growth.

I hope the best for Hunter, Chloe, Nicholas, Katie, Mikayla, Jason, and Emma – as I do for each Confirmation class, like next year’s with Sadie, Shannon, Ryan, Morgan and Matt. I promise to be available to each of them as the months and years go by, to help them (with my sermons, youth work, & counsel) to continue to grow in faith, hope and love. It is a commitment we all make as Baptismal Sponsors and congregation members to each young person that comes and stays. Thank you for allowing me to be part of your lives during these years. And “work me” in the years to come to enhance your gifts and give you ways of expressing your “faith active in love”.

We seek during this time of Lent to be repentant, we seek to see the New Light that Jesus brings into this world ravaged by sin – evident by our relationships and culture’s struggles. We are invited by Christ and the Church to have a NEW Hope in our God of Possibilities. Let us remember – as I shared in my sermon about Nicodemus in the 3rd chapter of John (including 3:16 and 17) – that Jesus came to REVEAL God’s Forgiveness…not to reveal our sins. All evidence to the contrary, God is NOT about Death and Destruction, BUT God is ALL ABOUT Life and Restoration.

In other words, God is NOT a Cosmic Judge or Tyrant who relishes in punishing us. However, for the way we treated his only Son when he dwelt among us – we certainly do not deserve his Love. Even so, God raised Jesus up on Easter to show us that His Love and Purpose is not so easily or brutally done away with.

As you ponder your life and the meaning of Easter in your life, may you accept God’s love as lived in Jesus. May you know that because HE LIVES, you too may live a new kind of life…that is both abundant AND eternal.

Ellen Edwards Kennedy wrote the following -- whether about herself or about a character in one of her books I do not know: When I became a Christian, I began to look at a particular young woman with scorn. I felt little but contempt for her as I thought of her quick temper, her selfishness, her spiteful gossiping, and the way she took her loving family for granted. Any time she was mentioned, I could think of very little good to say. But one day as I was leafing through an old picture album filled with photos of her. Jesus spoke to my spirit and told me, "I have always loved her, despite her sins, and I have forgiven her. I want you to forgive and love her too."

As I gazed at the young face in the pictures, my heart was filled with compassion for the girl. Along the way in searching for life's meaning, she had made many mistakes. God gave me a gentle love for her and the ability to forgive her. That moment of healing when I decided to forgive and love her also gave me a new strength and a new freedom to love others as never before… because the woman in the pictures was me.

That is a powerful story of one woman’s struggle with God’s Love and Forgiveness. Each of us, too, has come through a lot of muck & mire in this life…some of which we are neither proud nor forthright about. But you and God know…and God still loves you…wants the best for you…and can use you for His purposes in your family, your church-family, community and world.

Believe the LIVING WORDS of Jesus – spoken to Nicodemus…but also to you:
“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son.
And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can
have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely
to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the
world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust
him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it.”
(The Message translation of John 3:16-18; by Eugene Peterson)

Jesus is also revealed as the Messiah to his Jewish tradition. This is done with Miracles revealing his divinity. And the texts also involve his calling his Disciples – those who will first to hear the message, and then be immortalized for their faithfulness in sharing the faith and for their martyrdom. May you enjoy this Season for its hymnody, Lessons and themes – until Ash Wednesday, February 25th. It is then that we see the PRICE to PAY for Jesus being the Son of God and Savior of the world.

BUT we should ALSO realize that WE too are CALLED to be Christ’s presence, hands & feet in the world today. Jesus’ resurrected body cannot be discerned and His Holy Spirit works in mysterious ways so that the only IMAGE some have of Jesus is the image we project. Our MISSION, then, if we choose to accept – is to be faithful in REPRESENTING Jesus to “our” world. That is not so easy or painless… depending if you have Christ’s intended mission or the world’s perverted image as your Guide.

My personal preference – that I recommend to you – is that you have an “aggressive” vision of our Mission as the Church of Jesus Christ. Nothing too simple or sweet. Something that isn’t stuck in our local setting, but one that also crosses borders and boundaries ethnically, nationally and internationally. Diedrik Nelson describes such a mission thus =

“We are to be the life-line to the frontier assault-force as well as the domestic recruiting office.”

As you seek to find ways to be such a disciple {by responding to the “Come & See”) and to be an evangelist / witness {by then acting on it, to “Go & Tell”} our church and our Mission will be heard. Please remember several things:

n You are a walking advertisement of this church and the Christ whom we preach.

n You take the church out of our four walls, and you make it live in the everyday activities of life.

n Remember: the preaching in the pulpit is fruitless unless it is reflected in your life.

n Finally, realize your church is measured not so much by what its leaders say as by what you do.

Be willing, in the days and seasons ahead, to repent & believe the Good News of Jesus Christ by the ways you conduct your life and lips and limbs…for the sake of the One revealed as Savior & Lord.

Peace be with you… Pastor Miller (PrC)
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He says all he tried to do was VANITY – or USELESS (depending on your translation), that it was all “striving (chasing) after wind”. Consumed with consideration of the results of human achievement –he concludes: what does it all add up to? Are we really that bored or that dissatisfied? After all, you CAN achieve, build, gain knowledge, and even some wisdom. Is it still “chasing after wind”?

The Author of Ecclesiastes (named Qoheleth, pronounced “qwel-oth”) was an ancient sage as he stared at the works of his hands, his human labor, and concluded it was all a mirage, an illusion; that not much endures. However, is “endurance” the only or best test of our work – he wonders? NO. “Work” is not pointless & to be avoided. In fact he urges our enthusiastic, vigorous engagement in work. WORK is one of the gracious things God gives us to do before it’s our time to “pass-on”. While the results of our work may not last forever, our work is joyous, an active creation. Our achievements ought to be enjoyed for their own sake, for how they fill our days, and how they celebrate our God-given gifts for creativity and productivity.

The Author says enjoy work as an end-in-itself. But to do “work” to get something else: that leads to frustration & despair. We can, on the other hand, cherish the time we have to build, to play, or work. We get into “trouble” with our work WHEN we fail to keep work in its proper place. How “USE-LESS” or “VAIN” to become obsessive about it and presume to secure or define ourselves through our work. THAT is what the Author says “comes to nothing”…and is “striving after wind”.

It is far better to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, even your day-to-day routine & rhythms of it all. Find the joy of contributing your little part / piece to the whole / big picture of Life. Be thankful you have a job, a reason to get up in the morning, a place to go to do something. Enjoy that, relish it. Don’t worry that nothing you make is ‘forever’…you are not God…it will not last. True WISDOM is to keep your achievements in humble, human perspective – THEN they are worth appreciating.

There is little joy (REALLY – despite our fascination with winning the Lottery) in accumulating & piling-up more material possessions. None of that stuff goes with us to the cemetery. Better to find JOY in the little things ~ so we don’t live consumed with calculation and worry and fears…chasing the wind. We are, therefore, invited to LIVE and WORK EACH DAY in the new year, not seeking ‘results’ but rather enjoying the process of “toil”…and hope God will somehow take our efforts & weave them into God’s great, eternal purposes that will count for something.

Someone shared this story with me via e-mail. …John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood & always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he’d reply, 'If I were any better, I would be twins!' He was a natural motivator.

If a co-worker was having a bad day, John was there telling him how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I asked him, 'I don't get it! 'You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?' He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or...you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood.' Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or...I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested. 'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom
line: It's your choice how you live your life.'

I reflected on what he said. Soon thereafter, I left the Tower construction Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Then several years later, I heard John was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.

I saw him about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?' I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place. 'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter,' he replied. 'Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live.' 'Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?' I asked.

He continued, '...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER, I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action.' 'What did you do?' I asked. 'Well, there was a nurse shouting questions at me,' said John. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes” I whispered. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and said as distinctly as I could: 'Gravity''. Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not already dead.'

Let me tell you of the experience of one professor and how he handled the “transition period” before his own death. Every year, Carnegie Mellon University invites one of its faculty to give what has been called “The Last Lecture”, so named because it is the wisdom the professor would impart to students IF it were his / her last chance.

Well, in September 2007, Prof Randy Pausch (in computer science) accepted the challenge – the diff-erence this time was: this really would be Prof Pausch’s “last lecture”. He had just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had less than a year to live. When he agreed to give the lecture, he “bet” that no more than 50 people would attend – but it was ‘standing room only’ in the 400-seat auditorium.

The lecture was NOT about cancer; it WAS whimsical, poignant, and fun – which was important to Dr. Pausch. He told stories from his own experiences of growing up…the importance of honesty & truth…of perseverance, gratitude and passion. He urged his students to live their dreams and enable others to realize theirs. He spoke of his love for his wife & for his three young children – he agreed to give this last lecture ‘for them’ – to leave a video “message in a bottle” for them to discover when they were older.

Much of his lecture was about how he managed to scale the “BRICK WALLS” that stood in the way of achieving his dreams. He said, “the BRICK WALLS are there for a reason. The brick walls are NOT there to keep us OUT…they are there to give us a CHANCE to show how badly we want something.”

In his final minutes of the “last lecture”, he talked about how important his family was to him. [ And this is the significant stuff about LIFE & end-of-life attitudes we contemplate on All Saints Sundays. ] Professor Randy Pausch used a metaphor to explain how he was “using” whatever time he had left. He described it this way:
“Somebody’s going to push my family off a cliff pretty soon, and I won’t be there to catch
them. And that breaks my heart. But I have some time to sew some nets to cushion the
fall. So, I could curl up in a ball and cry, or I can get to work on the nets…”
[ Indeed, Prof Randy Pausch died of pancreatic cancer this year, 2008, on July 25. His 70-minute “last lecture” can be viewed at www.cmu.edu/randyslecture - and it has also become a bestselling book. ]

Yes, we all must face “Death” either as the one being left behind or the one passing on. We do have a choice about how we will “handle” ourselves and those we love in the meantime. On way or another, we will be confronted with our “last breath”. The Question is – what will YOUR “last lecture” include IF you have time to compose it and also to deliver it?

Engineers attached a sturdy-enough thread to a paper kite…flown by a ten-year-old boy (who had proven himself to be a fine kite-flyer). With winds in their favor, the boy flew his kite across the falls to the opposite shore. After retrieving the kite, they tied a more sturdy string to the thread and pulled the string across the chasm. They used the string to pull a cord across, then a rope and, after multiple “trips”, they finally pulled across the first steel cable…that was the beginning of the new bridge. And the rest is history, as they say. But, what a humble beginning, and a great example of thinking outside-the-box.

Each strand served a purpose, each was needed in the process. We too, are like a single strand – needed somewhere for a grand purpose in God’s Divine Plan. In one sense, Jesus was the first strand sent across the chasm – created by sin – between God & imperfect humanity. We live now in a hostile & fallen, but good, creation. By faith, individual disciples became a community of believers and then a church…and, eventually, The Church – as a bridge for us to stay connected with our loving Creator…on a distant shore.

In another sense, we each are threads that are woven together that create the fabric of families, churches, communities and countries. The fabric is not so much like “fine linen” as it is coarse material – but it is useful to the world in God’s hands…and a blessing to each that is included. We need to accept and celebrate that we have been brought together in this grand Design as we value the contribution of each thread / string / cord / and cable among us.

As we begin another school year – spirits are high…on our way to soaring. Our summer attend-ance dipped some, even though we had some pretty “full” Sundays. Our offerings kept strong, at least up with expenses. Now, in October, we need to repair our connections to church by worshipping and in education and service projects. Please commit to such activity so that our “bridge” to God will be in good repair and well maintained. Then our lives will be in harmony with the Creator and we will receive the Grace we need…so we may give the Grace the world needs.

Will you make that commitment? How can we help you honor that claim on your life by the One who saved you – so that you and we will be faithful disciples TODAY…cheerfully & generously giving of our Time, Talent and Treasures. May the Lord bless & keep you. Pastor Miller

For the rest of my PR PAGE, I’d like to tie-up one loose-end from a recent sermon. It has to do with “Jewish Law” and “legalism”. It always seems a good idea to have ‘laws’ and ‘rules’ to guide our behavior (social & ethical). The ‘lack thereof’ seems to occupy much space to Advise Divas in weekly columns – someone is always wondering about proper ‘etiquette’ in situations – simple or sticky.

What we learn from / through the Pharisees is that Jesus had a devil of time getting past their rules to clarify God’s Law for them...the people…and us. So, perhaps, we need to heed this warning from the Pharisees’ mistakes…so we may be open to God’s desire that we LOVE…rather than live in fear.

Remember / realize: Jewish law wasn't simple. The Jewish law included 613 commandments -- 365 "Thou shalt nots" & 248 "Thou shalts." They got pretty complicated. Food laws are one of the things that distinguish the Jews from all others. We call it "keeping kosher." In addition to regula-tions about what they could & could not eat, Rabbis got together and made things more complicated. By the time they were through, Jews would have to have one set of dishes for meat & another set for dairy. Thus you have some idea how complicated it can be to keep Jewish law. Jesus condemned such laws as burdening the people or for giving them a false sense of judgment-security.

Thus = the issue of man-made tradition vs. God's Law. “Tradition” has its roots in good motives. While Torah law included a great deal of detail, it did not attempt to anticipate every possible scen-ario. Rabbis who loved God & wanted to keep the law faithfully developed the Mishnah (compiled 200 B.C. to 135 A.D.) & the Talmud (compiled 250-500 A.D) to correct this "deficiency," producing works that filled nearly 36,000 pages. Intended to be helpful guidance for people who might other wise stumble into error, these works took on an authority nearly equal to the Torah itself.

In their desire to be comprehensive, rabbis expanded the law far beyond its original intent. In some cases, they took a rule intended for a specific group, such as priests, and applied it to everyone -- or they took a rule applicable to a specific situation and expanded it to cover all situations. They went into nearly infinite detail, making the law more complex and more binding with each word. Their exceptions were as precise and tortured as their rules. It was rulemaking run amok.
Perhaps a contemporary analogy would be government regulations, which burden bookshelves with tortured English. It is why we need tax-consultants to do our taxes. If we were to do the same with “spiritual issues” – one might want to decide (not just suggest) which is the proper way to receive Communion: the man should be first before his wife – to “lead”, OR be 2nd – to “be polite”. It doesn’t really matter, does it. Yet, we can go “crazy” trying to legislate such matters of the heart.

Camp with the kids and Lucinda & Laurie was such a delight. No wonder each camper returns each year vowing to return. The staff at Metigoshe put on a great week of fun and faith-building. Their ‘music ministry’ is over-the-top / rah-rah exciting. Now they have a “high ropes course” that creates challenges and breath-taking moments for the hearty. We’ll go again in 2010 with the Confirmands…perhaps by train again – which would’ve been great this year without the problems created by the floods. All of us had a great time and returned safely & renewed / enriched.

A trip out East for a Family Reunion (my mother’s side) was held in Gettysburg, PA. Some of grandpa’s family are still there – his brother a historian / scholar on the Battle of Gettysburg, involved with the preservation of the battlefield & artifacts. It is amazing how fragile the Union was held together during the Civil War - which turned on some seemingly minor judgments at the time -15 minutes here or there spelled the difference between victory & defeat for either side. That’s not accounting for the significance of the cemetery or Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address – which we read, etched on a wall at his DC Memorial.

We did visit DC with 2 of our kids & spouses and grandson. We took a trolley-tour around to see as much as possible in such a short time. The Lincoln & Viet Nam Memorials were the only two we really “visited”. Donna & I liked them the best when we were there in 2002 – along with Jefferson’s Memorial during our previous visit. Some powerful stuff – from those two great American leaders / heros.

We actually spent more time in the Baltimore area (less than an hour from DC or Gettysburg) {boy I don’t know my ‘geography’ of the eastern seaboard – any more than “they” know about us out here in “fly-over” country.} We spent most of our time at the Inner Harbor – seeing sites (USS Constellation & Camden Yards) and going through the Aquarium – mostly for the benefit of Logan (the grandson) {it was air conditioned & didn’t involve ‘reading’ like a museum would}. We also toured Fort McHenry – of “Star Spangled Banner” fame. There too – the British just quit their attack (in 1814) after having taken DC and burning the White House – so close to a different outcome in our American history.

Lastly, I’ll share that yesterday, driving back from a golf outing (which hasn’t been too often this summer / due to weather) I swallowed & thought: “um? what’s that?” It felt like I was getting a sore throat. Then last eve my ear ached and this morning my head’s stuffy. Shucks! A summer cold – how crummy is that!!!! Then I remembered – somewhere out East I passed someone (at the Aquarium? in the airport? on the harbor pier?) and got a strong whiff of “medicine breath” – like a throat lozenge, or other treatment for a ‘summer cold’. RATS – I knew I shouldn’t have inhaled just then. Whaddaya think: I’m too paranoid, too whimpy? No wonder people fear strangers / foreigners / sick-ies for the bad things that happen in our lives / country / world. Wanderingly – Pastor Miller