His Needle Does Not Move

This phrase - "His needle does not move" - is repeated regularly by a pastor who is counseling us over the phone.   He's referring to God the Father, who, just as the needle of a compass does not move from true north, loves us exactly the same no matter what we do, AND who approves of us exactly the same no matter what we do.  I have trouble believing the latter, because I don't approve of people I love no matter what they do.  But the pastor's point is that none of us has any righteousness in ourselves; "all our righteousness is like filthy rags," because even the best deeds we do are tainted by impure and even wicked motives - a desire to be paid back, to be recognized, to earn God's love, to earn His approval, to prove I'm better than others, to manipulate others, to ....well, you get the idea.  For me, it really is all about me.   So the only righteousness we have in God's eyes is Jesus' righteousness, earned on the cross and given to us freely.  "When He looks at me He sees not what I used to be (and still am) but He sees Jesus," as the song states correctly.  The pastor encourages us to embrace our sin by freely acknowledging sin whenever and wherever the Lord points it out to us, and repenting of it in true humility.  Then we are free to thank God for His forgiveness in Christ, and trust Him that He is working in us to will and to do His good pleasure.  We don't have to try to keep the law or do good works; we simply trust that God is transforming us, and keep walking with Him.  I don't get it all yet, but it does make a lot of Scriptural sense.  More later on how He plays it out in daily life.  Praise God that "His needle does not move."

Busy by Choice

Several things I've read lately have pointed out the trap of busyness and consumerism.  Companies and individuals sell Americans on the idea that more activities and more stuff lead to happiness, and that every person deserves and should strive to attain happiness.  Of course, Jesus talked quite a bit about happiness, but he usually promised that we would gain it if we gave up trying.  "Give and it will be given to you," "He who loses his life will find it," "Happy are you if people persecute you," and "Do as I've done and you'll be happy" sound quite different than "Have it your way," "Just do it" and "Have a Coke and a smile."  Regarding busyness, our prayer group affirmed that whenever we tell people, "Oh, we're so busy," we get nods and smiles and admiration because we're doing so much to make ourselves or others happy.  When is the last time someone replied with "Shame on you - slow down!" ?  

I do believe, however, that if I were able to say to someone, "I'm very relaxed; I only have one thing to do today," I would also receive nods, smiles and admiration - along with "HOW did you DO that?"   I may be able to achieve this in the summer, so that's my new goal - to reach a day with only one thing to do.  For that to happen, I have to finish:

1) History and speech from the spring
2) Reorganization of a number of areas in the house (getting rid of stuff!)
3) Culling and sorting of pictures and videos, and catching up on albums with the kids
4) Wedding preparation
5) County Fair projects completed
6) Program for Prinsburg prepared
7) And I'll have to be caught up on laundry, meal preparation and house cleaning

Sounds daunting, but I believe the Lord would smile if I could focus an entire day on my identity in Him rather than my identity as a "doer."

Warm Weekend

Although the weather cooled down slightly, to seasonal temperatures instead of the sauna we've endured for two weeks, our hearts were warmed by many special events this weekend.  First and foremost, David & Callie spent several days with us.  On Saturday evening, Pete & Kari walked eight miles with the lovebirds and we all exchanged life stories.  What a delight!  There are few things as interesting as learning where someone has come from and what makes them tick.  Much more remains to be learned about Callie, but we certainly know her much better now.

Jeremy & Susan Beebout, Lydia, Elyza and Abigail arrived on Friday for the noon meal and stayed through Saturday breakfast.  They shared stories of how the Lord is providing for their work and their family in Niger, and the children enjoyed playing with the kitten and our big kids.  The Willmar swimming pool provided relief from the heat, at the same time the north wind brought cooler air.

On Saturday morning, several Svea ladies hosted a bridal shower at the church for Callie.   The generosity and warm welcome impressed her.  She got some cool stuff too!  On Sunday morning, Grandma Dee played an arrangement of "This is My Father's World" on the oboe for our special music - beautifully done!  Grandpa treated us to brunch at the Oaks after church - more delicious food.  After naps at home, we swam and went tubing at Scott's with succulent bratwurst and angel food cake for supper.  The swimming pool water feels like a child's bath water, contributing to our Warm Weekend.  Thanks everyone!

Coast to Coast to Prairie

In just over three weeks, Kari and Sarah traveled from Laguna Beach in California to Cocoa Beach in Florida to Bryant, SD (that last is the ultimate tourist destination!).

Our family vacation to California thrilled us all, from Disney

and Hollywood

to the Golden Gate Bridge

 and the redwoods, thanks to the hospitality of Pete's cousins, Chloe & Gary Koslowsky and Russ & Ria Schaefer.  We also enjoyed riding the train again 

and relaxed for a few days at Dana Point.  Pete, Kari, Sarah, Andrew & Philip formed the crew - much smaller than our usual nine-person contingent.  We didn't get any stares or questions like, "Are they all yours??"  At the end of that trip we spent a short time in the frigid waters of the Pacific at Laguna Beach.

Kari, Joel, Daniel and Sarah flew to Orlando with thirteen others from Svea for a volunteer week with Give Kids the World in Kissimmee, a resort for families of children diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses.   They work with dozens of wish-granting organizations to provide these families with a week of pure happiness.  Corporations donate money and goods, while volunteers man 1500 shifts per week, cleaning, serving, helping, feeding, playing with and interacting with the children and their families.  Our group provided 153 shifts during the five days we worked, driving 20-30 minutes (each way) twice a day for 3-4 hour periods.

On our off day, we surfed, swam and body-boarded at Cocoa Beach, where the air was almost 100 degrees and the water of the Atlantic was warm enough to spend hours.

Last weekend the Stadem family gathered in Bryant for the bi-annual reunion, with 81 present.  We were able to use the rebuilt (though unfinished) barn, which amazed everyone who entered.  The efforts of Leroy Stadem, Steve Stadem and Bernie Iserman, along with donated labor, time and money by dozens of relatives, have really paid off in a usable and beautiful meeting space.

Now we're ready to be home for a while.  Almost caught up!

We’re All Lawbreakers Now

When laws multiply to the point of insanity, sane people become lawbreakers.  I allowed my 15-year-old permit-only driver to drive alone (in the country for 2.4 miles).  I burn stuff that’s illegal to burn.  I go 5-10 miles over the speed limit regularly.  And so do you.  And we consider ourselves law-abiding citizens – which I very much want to be.  But these laws are driving us crazy! 

Now I’ve discovered a law that takes the cake – literally.  As part of some compromise over church potlucks, the Minnesota Department of Health has put a regulation in place that makes it illegal for fundraising groups or non-church groups to serve food in churches unless at least one server is certified and trains the rest.  This means that our 4-H club members, youth group fund-raising soup lunch servers, and even I, at our confirmation open house party for Andrew in the church basement, have been breaking the law.  Granted, certification is relatively simple – watch a video and complete some handouts – but the principle is still ridiculous, especially when you realize that the 4-H club, which is NOT open to the public or attempting to raise money, could serve food at any other location in the state without consequence.  However, it is a community event in a church and therefore subject to the regulation.

This points out the problem with these ever-increasing laws.  They target one group but invariably shoot another.

Minnesota has recently and rapidly passed another law called “Jacob’s Law,” which requires either parent of a child to notify the other parent if abuse of the child is discovered.  It has exceptions and so forth, but does anyone seriously believe that this won’t make someone, somewhere, a law-breaker in the best interests of their child, because the exceptions don’t cover their particular situation? 

it simply is not true that every bad thing should be “fixed” with a law – and in fact, it will NOT be fixed.  The proliferation of laws simply makes everyone take all the laws less seriously. 

Ask and you shall receive...

The Lord has been reminding me of the truth of "Ask and you shall receive."  A week ago Tuesday, I realized that I hadn't been praying with Sarah for her softball team, games and season.  She had been somewhat negative about their winless season - some disappointments etc.  I asked if I could pray for her before she left for her last home game, she said, "Well, nothing else has worked!" and I asked the Lord to help her relax and enjoy herself and have a good perspective.  They lost again, but she had a good game with 3 solid hits, and felt God had answered our prayer.  On Thursday we prayed for team unity and perspective, and they did come together, enjoyed their game, and procured their first victory!  They were so excited!  On Friday,we prayed for Coach Banks to relax and enjoy herself, and for more teamwork, and they won again!  On Saturday, we prayed for teamwork, and they lost their first game so were out of the tournament.  Sarah and KJ had to sit there for hours while the boys' baseball team finished their tourney and then ride back with them.  But at least they were together.

On Thursday, Pete and I had to sing for a funeral and when we got there, Jon Barber informed us that the sound system wasn't working.  He and Pete tried several things while I played the prelude, and right before the funeral started Pete prayed with Jon and then sat down and informed me, "The system isn't working - do we need to do anything different?"  But when Pastor Mary started speaking, lo and behold - it worked!  Afterwards Pete asked Jon, "What did you do?"  "Nothing - I just turned it off and back on and this time it worked!  Must have been your prayer."  Must have been.

Thursday night was the first church softball games, and we prayed for a good spirit of encouragement and a good attitude.  I don't know what happened over at the Gold team (I wasn't there because I was driving Sarah back from her Rocori victory so she could play with the Bronze team), but we (Bronze) had a great crowd, great spirit and a great game with a victory.  Everybody had a good hit or two and a good defensive play or two.  Jerry was quite pleased, and the rest of us were thrilled.  Thank You, Lord, for answering prayer and for reminding us that You like to be asked.

Learning New Skills

This morning the kids and I spent three hours in the office at Gorans Bros., learning CPR from a Ridgewater College instructor with a video curriculum.  I made the kids go to bed on time last night, saying, "We have this class in the morning and I don't want you falling asleep in the middle of it."  No worries.  The video instructor was fairly interesting and very repetitive, because he wanted us to be sure to remember the basic points:

1.  Compressions are the key.  You must push the chest down two inches with each compression and let the chest rise to its natural state in between.

2.  The first compressions are the most effective, so if there is another trained person around, be sure to take turns at least every two minutes so you give good CPR.

3.  Do 30 compressions, at least 100/min., and then give two breaths, making sure the chest rises with each breath.

4.  Start compressions right away, asking someone else to call 911 and find an AED defibrillator.  If you are alone, call 911 first, unless it's a child; then start compressions first because they often recover well.

All of this was interspersed with practice on mannequins.  We had only twelve in the class, so were able to share a mannequin with just one other person.  They also had AED training kits so we were able to practice hooking up the pads, staying clear, and pushing the shock button.  I didn't know that the goal of the AED was to STOP the heart, so that the body's natural re-starter would get it going in the right rhythm again.  The other things to remember before hooking up the pads were:  shave away excess hair; wipe away excess moisture and get the patient out of a wet environment; and remove any metal (underwire bras or necklaces).   Otherwise the AED gives its own instructions.

It was quite effective, as you can see, and quite fascinating.  I took a CPR class in college, but remember virtually nothing, so this was a great refresher.  We had everyone from 11-year-old Philip to Kim and Pete in their fifties, and everyone was able to learn new skills.