InSPIREd Sunday

 Coon Prairie Lutheran Church
Westby, WI

Mark 16: 6-8

'Don't be astonished,' he said to them. 'You're looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has been raised! He isn't here! Look - this is the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples - including Peter - that he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You'll see him there, just like he told you.' They went out, and fled from the tomb. Trembling and panic had seized them. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.'

"People today are afraid of Easter for totally different reasons. Well, perhaps not totally different. The gatekeepers of 'modern' Western society have decreed that religion is dangerous nonsense; that if there is a 'god' he's a long way away and only interested in your private spiritual life; that Progress, Technology and 'Science' (by which they mean not real science, the delighted and humble exploration of the universe, but an ideology that uses the same name) are in charge, and taking us towards a golden future. And that dead people do not rise.

"They have to add that last bit, of course - not that it's a new idea. Homer knew that the dead don't rise. Pliny, the great Roman naturalist, was well aware of it too. That's hardly surprising, since it is the universal human experience. Dead people stay dead. The early Christians knew that too, and that was why what they discovered on that first Easter morning blew their minds and imaginations. They weren't ignorant folk who didn't know 'the laws of nature.' But those who try to shape today's Western world-view insist on 'no resurrection' for the same reason as all other totalizing systems insist on it. If Jesus was raised from the dead, a new power has been let loose in the world, a power which goes beyond all other power known to the human race. All other power, in the last analysis, ends up killing people. That's the bottom line. But if there is a God who raises the dead, all other powers are called to account. Resurrection challenges human empire where it hurts most..."

- N.T. Wright, Lent For Everyone

Jesus is Lord

Hope - because of the Resurrection.

Have a blessed Lord's Day, friends!

Linked to InSPIREd Sunday

InSPIREd Sunday - Thinking About Prayer

 

 First United Methodist Church
Red Wing, MN

Some Thoughts on Prayer, C.S. Lewis:

"Prayers are not always - in the crude, factual sense of the word - 'granted.' This is not because prayer is a weaker kind of causality, but because it is a stronger kind. When it 'works' at all, it works unlimited by space and time. That is why God has retained a discretionary power of granting or refusing it; except on that condition prayer would destroy us. It is not unreasonable for a headmaster to say, 'Such and such things you may do according to the fixed rules of this school. But such and such other things are too dangerous to be left to general rules. If you want to do them you must come and make a request and talk over the whole matter with me in my study. And then - we'll see." - C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock.

Looking back over my life, I am so grateful for the times that God said, 'No' in answer to particular prayers.

'We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.'  Romans 8:28

That would be ALL things, including God's answer, 'No.'

 In Him is LIFE.

Linked to InSPIREd Sunday

and Roses of Inspiration

Have a blessed Lord's Day!

Hodgepodging the last of 2015

 Beautiful visitors to our cranberry bush

Winter has finally come to Wisconsin. I can't say that I was sad, thinking we might have a snowless Christmas, but we did get snow just in time. And now we will enjoy it for the next four months, as we sit beside the fire and console ourselves with the beautiful photos in the seed catalogs, a reminder that spring really will come again...we hope.

Evening, December 28, 2015

And now it's time for the Hodgepodge!

Join Joyce and the Gang

for

Plug the answers into your own blog

and join in!

Here are the questions to the last Hodgepodge of 2015. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here to share answers with all the other revelers.

1. Share a favorite memory/moment from the week of Christmas.

Enjoying time with family and friends, and trying out the Christmas cake and Christmas pudding.

Christmas Eve (below), Grandpa (Mr. C.) reading the account of Jesus' birth from the Bible.

We enjoyed the company of Carla (from The River Flowing Blog) and her sweet family as well, for a Christmas tea to try out the Christmas Cake (lower, middle, above), but unfortunately my photo turned out blurry. :-(

Earlier, at our daughter's home:

Hungry, Hungry Hippo,

Son-in-law's Christmas pudding

We had a hard time getting that thing to flame! 

But it was delicious.

My dad made the icicles, bottom right

2. If someone wrote a book about your life based on the past year, what genre would it fall under? What would the title be?

Non Fiction: Stuck, But Hopeful

3. What made you feel patriotic this year?

That's a tough one, but I'd guess I'd say that every time I see the BNSF Railway commercial, it makes me marvel at how beautiful and vast this country is, and the amazing industry we once had. It also makes me sad that we have little industry that hasn't moved out of this country, that we have little access to quality goods or even the ability to purchase decent textiles at the store, and that our economy is not healthy, despite the mainstream media energetically pumping the bellows into a pile of dying embers.


4. What experience from this past year would you like to do all over again?

Spend vacation time with our daughter and son-in-law in England, meeting UK blogging friends, attending evensong service at York Minster, Durham Cathedral, and St. Paul's. I would never tire of this.

 York Minster in the distance
(York has Good Fences too)

York Minster Quire

5. What song lyric sums up or is a reflection of your 2015?
Song title, not lyrics: Walk, Don't Run
 
6. On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate 2015? (10=stellar) Why?

So far, I'd rate it a 6.  Ask me next July. Maybe it will look better in hind sight.

7. What part of the upcoming year are you most excited about?

Most excited and most apprehensive:  Hip revision surgery with a 90% hopeful outcome. (The original hip replacement was done in December of 2013.) That leaves 10%.  But I would think that the chair of  orthopedic surgery, Mayo, Rochester, is the best, which is why he's booked until June.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

 With Grandpa's Glasses

So 5 year old grandson was testing his 21 month old sister on her ability to pronounce words. 

'Lucy, say Paw Patrol.' 
'Papado'
'Lucy, say ornament.'
'ommamet'
'Hey, Mom, Lucy said 'ornament!' I'm so excited!  It's like she's an actual baby now, and not just a blob.' 

 The blob-turned-baby

with her grandpa

 Have a Happy New Year, Everyone!

***

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Linked to: Good Fences, Saturday's Critters, InSPIREd  Sunday, Mosaic Monday

InSPIREd Sunday, A Thanksgiving Prayer

 Our Lady of Lourdes

Dobie, WI

 Almighty God, Father of all mercies,

we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks

for all your goodness and loving-kindness

to us and to all whom you have made.

We bless you for our creation, preservation,

and all the blessings of this life;

but above all for your immeasurable love

in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;

For the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.

And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies,

that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise,

not only with our lips, but in our lives,

by giving up our selves to your service,

And by walking before you

in holiness and righteousness all our days;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,

be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen

- adots.org

Have a blessed Lord's Day, friends!

Linked to

InSPIREd Sunday
and
Roses of Inspiration

St. Mary's, Marathon City, WI

St. Mary's, Marathon City, WI

'Jesus had not done what Messiahs were supposed to do.  He had neither won a decisive victory over Israel’s political enemies, nor restored the Temple (except in the most ambiguous symbolic fashion).  Nor had he brought God’s justice and peace to the world; the wolf was not yet lying down with the lamb.  But the early gospel traditions are already shaped by the belief that Jesus was Israel’s Messiah; Paul regularly calls him Christos, and if that term had become for him merely a proper name (which I dispute) that only goes to show how firmly Jesus’ messianic identity was already established by Paul’s day.  For Revelation, Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.   

'The historian is bound to face the question: once Jesus had been crucified, why would anyone say that he was Israel’s Messiah? Nobody said that about Judas the Galilean after his revolt ended in failure in AD 6.  Nobody said it of Simon bar-Giora after his death at the end of Titus’s triumph in AD 70.  Nobody said it about bar-Kochbar after his defeat and death in 135.  On the contrary. Where messianic movements tried to carry on after the death of their would-be Messiah, their most important task was to find another Messiah.  The fact that the early Christians did not do that, but continued, against all precedent, to regard Jesus himself as Messiah, despite outstanding alternative candidates such as the righteous, devout and well-respected James, Jesus’ own brother, is evidence that demands an explanation.  

' As with their beliefs about resurrection, they redefined Messiahship itself, and with it their whole view of the problem that Israel and the world faced and the solution that they believed God had provided.  They remained at one level a classic Jewish messianic movement, owing fierce allegiance to their Messiah and claiming Israel and the whole world in his name.  But the mode of that claim, and the underlying allegiance itself, were drastically redefined.

' The rise of early Christianity, and the shape that it took in two central and vital respects, thus presses upon the historian the question for an explanation.  The early Christians retained the Jewish belief in resurrection, but both modified it and made it more sharp and precise.  They retained the Jewish belief in a coming Messiah, but redrew it quite drastically around Jesus himself.  Why?

  'The answer the early Christians themselves give for these changes, of course, is that Jesus of Nazareth was bodily raised from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion.  It is Jesus’ own resurrection that has given force and new shape to the Christian hope.  It was, they insist, Jesus’ own resurrection which constituted him as Messiah, and, if Messiah, then Lord of the world.'

- from Jesus' Resurrection and Christian Origins. N.T. Wright


Have a blessed Lord's Day.

This post is linked to

Inspired Sunday

and

Roses of Inspiration

Ebenezer Lutheran, InSPIREd Sunday

Ebenezer Lutheran,
Originally built near Cumberland, WI
Now in the Barron County Historical Society Museum

'O Lord, you have searched me and known me! 

 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from afar. 

 You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways. 

 Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. 

 You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me. 

 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.'

Psalm 139: 1-6 

Have a blessed Lord's Day!

This post is linked to

InSPIREd Sunday

InSPIREd Sunday, Durham, England

Our Lady of Mercy & St. Godric's

One of my favorite pieces of music.

 

Hope you enjoy it as well.

English Translation:

"Word equal to the Very High one, our sole hope
Eternal of both the Earth and the Heavens
Of this peaceful night, we break the silence
Divine Saviour, cast your gaze down on us!

Spread on us the fire of your mighty grace
So all of Hell flees upon hearing your voice
Dissipate the sleep of a yearning soul
Which leads us to forget your laws!

Oh Christ, be favourable to this faithful people
Now gathered to bless you
Welcome the hymns they offer to your immortal glory
And may they come back fulfilled!"

Have a blessed Lord's Day, friends!

InSPIREd Sunday, St. Rose of Lima

St. Rose of Lima Church, Cadott, WI

'Data published by the U.S. Census Bureau and the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute show that the number of babies aborted since the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 is already more than the entire population of the United States in 1880.' - Breitbart.com

This post is linked to
InSPIREd Sunday 

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InSPIREd Sunday - Our Savior's Lutheran

Our Savior's Lutheran

Mikana, WI

What Jesus Taught About Dealing With Enemies

"You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy;  But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, to show that you are the children of your Father Who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and makes the rain fall upon the upright and the wrongdoers [alike].

For if you love those who love you, what reward can you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that?  And if you greet only your brethren, what more than others are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles (the heathen) do that?

You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect."  - Matthew 5:43-48, Amplified Bible 

 Calling the faithful to worship

"But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together.  One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”  - Matthew 22:34-40, NASB


Have a blessed Lord's Day, friends!

This post is linked to

InSPIREd Sunday

St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London - InSPIREd Sunday

St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London

  

 "Man's nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols.” - John Calvin

“For when we cease to worship God, we do not worship nothing, we worship anything.” - G.K. Chesterton

 "You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve." - Luke 4:8

Have a blessed Lord's Day!

***

This post is linked to

InSPIREd Sunday

InSPIREd Sunday April 26, 2015

Scandinavian Prairie Church,

North of Tilden, WI

February 2015

***

As a father shows compassion to his children,

so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.

For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.

As for man, his days are like grass;

he flourishes like a flower of the field;

for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,

and its place knows it no more.

But the steadfast love of the LORD

is from everlasting to everlasting

on those who fear him,

and his righteousness to children's children,

to those who keep his covenant

and remember to do his commandments.

The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,

and his kingdom rules over all.

- Psalm 103:13-19

***

P.S.  The photos above were taken in February. We are so happy to report that the snow is gone, the migratory birds are back, the garden is ready to be tilled, and it will soon be time to cut the grass.

I tend to complain about winter (as though you hadn't noticed), but it certainly does make me appreciate springtime!

Dallas Pond

Dallas, WI

April 2015

Have a blessed Lord's Day!

This post is linked to

InSPIREd Sunday

and

Roses of Inspiration

InSPIREd Sunday - Hymn Sing and St. Joseph's Church

When's the last time you had some folks in for a hymn sing? We weren't a large group (12 adults, 3 kids, and an unborn baby), but we made up for it in enthusiasm. It is so much fun to get together and sing praises to our Lord and Savior, maker and ruler of the Universe.


One of my favorites:

And can it be that I should gain

an interest in the Saviour's blood?

Died he for me, who caused his pain?

For me, who Him to death pursued?

Amazing love! How can it be

That thou, my God, shouldst die for me

Amazing love! How can it be

That thou, my God, shouldst die for me.

'Tis mystery all, Th'Immortal dies! 

Who can explore His strange design?

In vain the first-born seraph tries

To sound the depths of love Divine!

Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more.

He left His Father's throne above,

So free, so infinite His grace;

Emptied Himself of all but love, 

And bled for Adam's helpless race;

'Tis mercy all, immense and free;

For O, my God, it found out me.

Long my imprisoned spirit lay

Fast bound in sin and nature's night;

Thine eye diffused a quick'ning ray,

I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;

My chains fell off, my heart was free;

I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

No condemnation now I dread;

Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!

Alive in Him, my living Head, 

And clothed in righteousness Divine,

Bold I approach th'eternal throne,

And claim the crown, thro' Christ my own.

Amazing love! How can it be

That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me.

AMEN.

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.  For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."

Romans 8:1-4

 St. Joseph's Catholic Church

Rice Lake, WI
September

South Side

East Side

Same church, October

Linking to

InSPIREd Sunday