The Unfortunate Turkey

Here is a story that my 9 year old daughter wrote: Once there was a turkey named Tom. He lived on the Burgan Farm. It was 3 days before Thanksgiving Day, and he knew what that meant: death for all turkeys. He hated the tradition of having turkey for Thanksgiving. Tom hid inside the barn, hoping not to be noticed. His stomach rumbled. He was hungry. He saw some feed on the ground and ate it. “No one will find me here, I hope,” Tom thought anxiously. 2 days passed. Tom forgot that there was one more day until Thanksgiving. “Ha! I fooled them that time!!!” Tom thought. He came out of hiding, snickering to himself. Before he knew it, Farmer Burgan was chasing him around the barn. “COME BACK HERE, YOU SNEAKY TURKEY!!!” Farmer Burgan shouted. Tom was beginning to tire. He rested inside the barn. “AHA! THERE you are!” said a voice. It was Farmer Burgan! And no one ever heard from Tom the Turkey again. Moral: ALWAYS COUNT THE DAYS UNTIL AFTER THANKSGIVING IF YOU’RE A TURKEY.

Watch the Grammar

Jesus came to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Notice the subject of that sentence: Jesus. He does the seeking. What an amazing truth. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Since we are all born lost, we can correctly say that Jesus came to seek and save me, or that He came to seek and save you. WARNING: Do not make yourself the subject of the sentence, such as, “I sought Jesus so He could save me.” Salvation does not depend on the movement of our will towards God, but on Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection for us, given to us in our baptism. (“Baptism...now saves you” 1 Peter 3:21). He gives us the faith through His Word to believe in Him. The initiative is God’s alone. You can rest your eternal salvation on that.

A Hat and Gloves

I had fun at a recent ladies' meeting where we were invited to wear a hat and gloves if we wished. I borrowed the hat and gloves from a friend.

I suppose I still like to play dress up.

Glancing Back at God's Provision

"Do you have a place to live?" asked our admissions counselor, soon after we sold our home. "Well...we have a place in mind that we could buy, but it's not ideal," was our reply. He told us that there was a four bedroom home available in the country, provided that Stan would agree to do his two years of fieldwork at the church next door. They sent us photos of the house, and we said yes. One month later we were in Indiana, driving to our new home. "If you don't like it you don't have to take it," said the pastor. I thought, "The 26 foot moving truck is showing up today. Where else would we go?" We walked in to the house, and.....we loved it. So much so that we are still living there after Stan finished his vicarage there in August, and is now completing his 4th year at seminary. It has been a tremendous blessing to us to live in the same home for our entire time at the seminary. It has relieved financial stress, and allowed us to put down roots. This is one way God has given us our daily bread.

Grandpa was Special

I have been thinking about my grandpa lately. He died about 14 years ago. I adored him, which is evident by the look on my face in this photo, which was taken in his shop. He made me the wooden barn (complete with a Snoopy weathervane, which is cut off in the photo), as well as the big wooden Snoopy. I did a lot of fun things with him on the farm, which included riding in the tractor with him when he worked the fields. It was an enclosed cab, and he made me a bed in the back of the tractor so I could take a nap when I got sleepy. When I was awake, I would sit on his knee while he drove the tractor, and he would tell me stories. Grandpa was special.

Songs That Get You Through the Night

Some songs are fun, and some songs will get you through the dark times of life. Here is a soundbite discussing The Difference Between a Hymn and a Ditty.

Reason versus Justification

Reason thinks as follows: If you have been justified, you cannot be a sinner. But they do not understand the magnitude of divine mercy and the efficacy of faith, that is, they cannot discern true from false. They do not think that God can count us righteous while sin remains. His imputation is greater than our purity; the substance remains. The imputation is greater than all the angels and the whole world. - Martin Luther