An Invitation

I invite you to offer this prayer as we walk into the new year.

Lord, help me faithfully to journey along my road,
holding my rightful place in the great procession of humanity;
Help me above all to recognize you and to help you
in all my pilgrim brothers and sisters.

(Michel Quoist as quoted in Prayers and Thoughts from World Religions)

Her Kind Of Courage

What's happening?!
For Christmas I received a nice # of C.D.'s. Sweet music.
I found Joy a beautiful piece of art work for above our bed.
Art and music...good stuff.
I've almost finished reading one of the Harry Potter books. I needed a break from the darkness of dealing with my papa. The book has helped lighten things up. Good writing and imagination.
Speaking about my folks, my brothers and I think we have found a nice room in the Warren nursing home. So, someone from the home is coming to do an assessment of my parents next week. Please say a prayer for next week.
Saw a good movie today...Charlie Wilson's War.
O God, I forgot, Ms. Bhutto was murdered today. Damn't. Forgive us God.
Too much darkness. Oh Jesus keep us working with you to build God's kingdom.
Give me her kind of courage.
His Kingdom come...His Will be done. Nothing else matters.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS! AND MAY CHRIST WALK WITH US AND LEAD US INTO THE NEW YEAR.

going to ft wayne now to see the parents.
again, it seems we are very near placing them into the home.
please pray....thank you...love you.

The Honoring of a Life

I went to the funeral of a pastor today, and his name was David Tripp.
A life time friend described David as a Methodist, Liturgist, and Ecumenical.
David's wife Diane looked weary. God bless her with your love.
The worship was beautiful.
The music was excellent.
The witnessing about David's life was meaningful
from different kinds and ages of people.
The sense of community was almost overwhelming to me , and I was bathed in Spirit
as the congregation came forward for Holy Communion.
It seems that Rev. Tripp was able to combine
the work of a scholar with the work of a servant.
One gentleman shared that he and David met for lunch once a week for two years,
and that he saw in David's life, more than any other, the life of Jesus.
May it be so.

Just Me

In the silence
with a heart slightly solemn
yet deeply knowing how truly blessed I am.

I am only meant to be me.
No one else and nothing more.
Husband, father, son, pastor, poet, human being.

And oh yes, a child of God
and a follower of the ways
of an ever present rabbi named Jeshua.

New Pill

Ok, here's the latest.
Dad's doctor called in a new med today that might be able to help papa deal with the intensified Alzheimers. He is supposed to take this pill every afternoon. He has, at times, fought taking his pills. So Jay is taking this new pill over today to start. If this works, it may help us all hold on for a while. Please pray that he takes his afternoon meds...these magic pills of science...and God's goodness. Thank you!

A Little Help From My Friends

We need your thoughts and prayers.
It may finally be time to place my parents in the nursing home.
Many people have provided much care to keep my parents in their home,
but things are starting to get bad.
I can't even imagine how hard it's going to be for my folks and us to get this done,
but, on the other hand as my papa would say, I must also "assume a Yes."
So, please pray hard for all of us (the care team)as we think and talk this through.
I will keep you updated....and will be asking for more prayers!
You are part of "the Yes."

Blessed Be the Wounds That Bind

David had knee surgery three days ago, and he has been mending in our home. Today David and I tried to change his dressing which needed it very badly when something very strange happened. We discovered that his incision had opened up quite a bit. We tried to tape it back up but quickly realized we were way over our head. So, we drove back to Lafayette where Dr. Hagin could stitch up the wound. My boy, who is actually a grown man attending the University of Chicago, was quite scared and needed help from his papa. (I was kind of freaking out too!)As we drove to Lafayette we had a wonderful conversation about his classes and all sorts of good stuff, and on the way home, we were thankful for everything working out and for our relationship. David's wound coming apart led to our binding together.

I find that in my life my own woundedness leads to a binding together with the One who shines glorious Light into my soul, and then I am invited by that same One to share that light with others...another connection created. By the way, I'm not necessarily celebrating being wounded! I'm all for folks finding healing and new beginnings, and that's for sure. I just see that mysterious and beautiful connections happen in the midst of people experiencing brokeness.

I love you God. Thank you for it all... including the things that come apart and how those same things can bind us together with each other and with You.

Life and Light

Ice storm today. Stayed home and decorated the Christmas tree. Fun.
Sitting by a fire now while Joy Ellen studies anatomy. Colts game soon.
Been reading McLaren's new book called Everything Must Change. It's about the suicide machine we have created which threatens the existence of earth and how the Jesus Way might show us another way to live and love and survive on this planet.
Things have been a little dark for me over the last month. But that fits with Advent, and I have understood in my mind, heart, and gut what the holy words mean when they say...that the Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
May it be so with you, your loved ones, and this world.
The fire is still burning in the dark fireplace and it's full of life and light.
But I've got to stir it up and put new wood on every once in a while.

Agape

My dad has been my mentor in life and ministry. He is still teaching me even today.
Donald Fredrick is 85 years old, and he has ahlzhiemers which mostly means at this point in time that he has almost no short term memory. (Something we take for granted.) Most of the time when we are with him, he has a joyous, loving, and positive personality. But when night time comes, things change. I think it is due to what is described as "Sundowners" which people with dementia experience when the sun goes down...and it is especially bad when they are in an unfamiliar setting. They get disorientated, agitated, and fixated on certain things.Dad calls me almost every night and accuses us of stealing their car. He often does it with anger, and then he says that he does not want us to come and see them anymore. He forgets the next day that he has made any phone call, is fine during the day, and then calls that night once again.
The reality is that neither of my parents can drive anymore, even though they at times dispute this, and that they have given us permission to buy their car from them which we have done. But they, neither of them, are able to remember this. We can't take the car back to them because then they want to drive it. Oh well, I don't want to bother you with all the details and options we have to think through. That is not the reason I'm writing this.
Why I'm writing this is to share what the Lord is teaching us through it. He is teaching us about agape love which is loving unconditionally. It is about learning to love people whether they deserve it or not and especially when they don't. It is how God loves us. It is how Jesus loved those who were murdering him on the cross. It is how his followers are called to love. It is how I am called to love my precious papa. I ain't saying it's easy or has been something I was able to do right away. I have struggled and yelled at him a couple of times. But I am starting to get it and learn my lesson.
I suppose it falls into the category of forgiveness, and we are called to live this way in the kingdom, in our families, and for the sake of the kind of world God desires and dreams of.