Everyone in U.S. Under Virtual Surveillance

But somehow this is still true?

QUESTION MORE.

Father H. Has Issues!

I was part of a Pastor's Roundtable on the world's greatest Lutheran radio show, Issues, Etc. on November 29.  You can listen to the program here.

And here is an archive of Issues, Etc. programs that I have been on in the past.

Thanks once more to Rev. Todd Wilken and Mr. Jeff Schwarz for having me on the program, and to Rev. Kirk Clayton who provided great pastoral dialogue!

A Podcast on American Government

That encompasses presidential history, economics, and even the theology of St. Augustine.  Click here to listen.

Spiritual Anguish

Rev. Ken Kelly takes up a forbidden topic in our church body.  This is utterly painful.  But it is a conversation that has to happen.  This kind of thing has been swept under the rug far too long.

Also read his related pieces "The Wounded" and "Update on the Wounded."

Thank you, Pastor Kelly.


'via Blog this'

Veni! Veni!

A traditional vocal rendition with only six (!) male voices (how do they do it?):

 


A more modern arrangement for one female voice - with the lyrics:

Help Rev. Dan Chambers Walk!

Sermon: Ad Te Levavi (Advent 1) – 2012

2 December 2012 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA

Text: Matt 21:1-9 (Jer 23:5-8, Rom 13:8-14)

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord.”  The days are coming.  Time is of the essence.  There is a sense of urgency.

’Tis the season!  We rush about between stores and family gatherings and office parties and the post office.  We are buying food and supplies and gifts and wrapping paper.  We are making sure this child gets here, grandma gets there, we don’t forget to pick this item up on the way home, and somehow schedule in that doctor’s appointment.

Of course, in the middle of the busyness, it’s easy to forget what is most important, why the urgency, what the “Behold the days are coming” the Lord is declaring to us.

The days are coming for our King to come to us, for the Lord to raise up the Righteous Branch, for the King to reign and “deal wisely,” to “execute justice and righteousness in the land.”

The days are coming when all of this concern about time will end, because time itself will end.  And with that end comes another end: the end of busyness, the end of scrambling around, the end of having to be here or there, the end of worry, of stress, of money problems, of sickness, of heartache, of sin, of family divisions, and yes, the end of death itself.

“Behold, the days are coming.”

For just as certain as our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem was, having been predicted by the prophets, being waited on for thousands of years by the people, carried out in the fullness of time at the Lord’s own words and deeds – so too will His advent come for us: His return, His final triumph, His coming again to take His throne and crown.  This time, He will not take up a cross and wear a thorny cap – but will rather he hailed in a worldwide triumph that will place Him at the center of the universe, bringing to fulfillment all that has been testified in Scripture.  “Behold, the days are coming…”

For this is what we are really moving toward, dear brothers and sisters.  This is why time is of the essence.  This is why St. Paul tells us to “wake from sleep.”  There is something far more important happening than shopping and parties, than cooking and greeting family members.  For we are preparing the royal highway to meet our King!  We are storing up eternal treasures in heaven to be made ready for the feast that will never end!  We will greet our brothers and sisters of every time and place around the throne of the Lamb, to sing “Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!”

The first time the Lord came to us, He was helpless and placed into a manger.  He came to us as one of us.  He joined us in our weakness and mortality and yet without sin.  And when He came to claim His kingdom in His ancestral Royal City, He came “humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”  He was cheered entering the city, hailed as King, and led by the crowds to be crowned; but five days later, He would be driven outside the walls of the city, jeered as a rejected pretender, to be crucified.

He suffered for our sins.  He died bearing our punishment.  He was sacrificed to achieve our redemption.  And He was to rise again as victor over death, so that we, His beloeved, might live forever.

And so we wait for this momentous return of our Lord.  “For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.  The night is far gone, the day is at hand.”

Just as we prepare for the busyness of the coming season, so too, dear friends, let us prepare spiritually for the coming age.  Let us be found prepared to greet our Lord in eternity, whether He comes to us at the end of the world, or whether we go to Him at the end of our lives.  For we know not when either event will happen.  But like our Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, it will happen.

How are we to be prepared, dear friends?  We have been redeemed by the Lord’s Holy Blood.  We have been baptized by the Lord’s Holy Water.  He have been forgiven by the Lord’s Holy Absolution.  We have been brought into a mystical union with Him through the Lord’s Holy Supper.  He has made us ready by offering to us Himself.  He has invited us to the feast.  He has prepared the way for us to join Him in eternity, leaving behind time itself and all of the hustle and bustle, worry and grief, sickness and death.

Come, dear friends!  Come to Him even as He comes to us this Advent, coming to us men for our salvation as the Baby in Bethlehem, as the King riding on a donkey preparing to take our place at the cross.  Come to Him, dear brothers and sisters,  even as He comes to us, His Bride, as a Conqueror at the end of the age, defeating Satan and death once and for all.  Come to Him, dear Christians, even as He comes to us humble, in the forms of bread and wine, forgiving our sins and drawing us into Himself in the miracle of the Holy Eucharist, for “the night is far gone; the day is at hand.”  Come to Him, dear friends, as He comes to you in the Divine Service, week in and week out, coming to prepare you to join Him in eternity!

And this is how we live out this salvation given to us by our Savior as a free gift: “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”

The Lord Jesus loves us and has indeed truly fulfilled the law for us and for our sakes.  And, dear friends, He gives us the strength and the power necessary to love others as well.  This busy holiday season is an opportunity to live in that love, to mend fences, to seek forgiveness, to grant forgiveness, to repent, to “walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord.”  The days are coming.  Time is of the essence.  There is a sense of urgency.  For this is truly important.  This is the greatest gift of all.  “Behold, your King is coming to you!”

“Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!”

Amen!

on the sickness of sinto the next - and d w liars and sons of the devil, tament, a bloodye people on

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The power of video (good, bad, and ugly)

We sang this hymn tonight...






 But what I heard in my head was this...

 

 (Note: cartoon violence, but remarkably accurate historically, see the accompanying Who's Killing Who: A Viewer's Guide).  

Rejection Fail, Customer Service Win (Super Cool!)

Some Austin, Texas awesomeness!

A comment that I think sums it up:

This employee will succeed where ever she goes. I'd hire her in a heartbeat because she was resourceful, took initiative, and was responsive to the customer. These are traits that can't be "trained." I could tell she really listened to the problem and had a deep understanding of her systems and processes. I would wager that if someone else asked her for it today, she would have a better solution. I bet she thought about a better, more elegant solution all night. So many people would have just said, "No. It's not my job." and then go and complain that they never get promoted and are stuck in a dead-end job. Not her, though. She took ownership of the problem and devised a solution. Great job, girl!

It reminds me of a cashier at a Fort Wayne (Indiana) Meier grocery store, a young pony-tailed Russian immigrant named Igor.  The guy was so good at his job, fast and efficient, such a go-getter, so eager to provide good customer service - I figure he probably owns a few businesses by now and is a millionaire.  It would not surprise me a bit.

Way to go Jackie!  

I, Pencil

HT: Bryan Morton.

I recently heard about this short film based on an idea by Leonard Read mentioned by economist Peter Boettke.  It is an inspiring and yet accessible explanation of the unbridled power of economic liberty and peaceful, voluntary, spontaneous, anarchic, cooperation and collaboration of human action around the world - so powerful that we take its almost miraculous work for granted.

Enjoy!

Bonus commentary:

Sermon: Thanksgiving Eve – 2012

21 November 2012 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA

Text: Deut 8:1-10

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

“You will eat bread without scarcity.” 

That is a promise of God, dear brothers and sisters.  “Without scarcity.”  For that “scarcity” is our problem.  That is the cause of poverty and competition, of covetousness, of fights over material goods, of wars, of revolutions, of the mighty taking from the weak, and of the majority ganging up on the minority.  This scarcity – which began after the fall in Eden – is what causes the love of money, what leads to jealously, and is why we have police and courts and prisons.  The reason we have hungry children is because bread, unlike the air we breathe, is scarce.

But the Lord reveals a glimpse into our glorious future, an existence without sin and death: “the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing.”

Can you imagine lacking nothing?  Can you imagine a world without want?  “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”  Can you imagine natural resources being plentiful, like the air we breathe, “in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper.”

This plenty over scarcity, this abundance over want, this wealth over poverty is promised to us, dear friends, when the Lord’s plan is brought to the fullness of time, and the wages of our sins have been abolished forever, when we return to the plenteousness of paradise, to an existence before struggle.

“And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land He has given you.”

And in a sense, the Feast of Thanksgiving is a little foretaste, a fleeting preview, a glimpse however imperfect into this eternal divine abundance.  For this is the time of year of the harvest, when in spite of our sins in the Garden of Eden, our own imperfect gardens nevertheless produce the fruits of their growth, “each according to its kind.”  And crippled as they are by the genetic and environmental effects of sin, this time of produce is still a time of feasting instead of famine, of having instead of having not, a time to share instead of a time to hoard or do without.

And for this gracious promise of abundance, we give thanks to our Lord.  For as “He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna,” so does our Lord continue to provide for us, dear friends.  The Lord provides for us.  And even as He feeds us bodily food, He provides us with much, much more: for “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

God’s Word is a kind of food for us to eat, a bread for us to taste, a nourishing meal to sustain us on our pilgrimage in this land.  And what’s more, the Lord provides us a holy meal, the flesh of the Lamb, a Thanksgiving Feast of liberty, of victory over the tyranny of Pharaoh and of Satan, of conquest over slavery and sadness, a redemption from sin, disease, and the death that our broken world and broken existence ultimately leads us to.  All of this has been swept away, dear friends, and we celebrate this Passover with a meal – a meal we have brought to completion in Christ, in which we partake freely this evening, and will partake of until He comes again.

For the greatest Thanksgiving feast of all is the Eucharistic Feast, a thanksgiving for the Lord’s death on the cross, for His redemption of us by His blood, for His flesh given to us as miraculous manna in the wilderness, as a sacrificial Lamb in which He Himself is at the same time Victim, Priest, Guest, and Host.  We sit at His table at His invitation and we dine with Him and on Him.  And through Him we ascend to the Father, rolling back the corrupting ages of our fallen world and sinful existence.  For He has replaced the scarcity caused by our sin with the abundance brought about by His love.

And so “let us give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, and  His mercy endureth forever!”  Let us celebrate with all the faithful and unfaithful alike in the feast of the produce of the harvest, of the blessings of the crops, of the loving labor of productive hands crafting scrumptious meals.  For ultimately, the source of this bounty is the merciful Lord, who in spite of our sins, still provides for us, in spite of the scarcity we deserve, nevertheless, continues to feed us beyond what we can ever imagine or hope for in body and in soul.

Most of all, dear friends, let us give thanks unto the Lord for the eternal thanksgiving feast, the wedding banquet, the body and blood of the Lamb in His kingdom – which has no end.  Let us glory in this bread (prefigured in the manna of old) and in this wine (prophesied as dripping sweetly from the mountains) as we return the thank offering of a grateful heart to Him who saved us by grace through His forgiving sacrifice for us, Him who shares Himself with us, Him who withholds nothing from us, Him whose mercy endures forever, who has come to give us life that we may have it abundantly.

“And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land He has given you.”

 Amen!

on the sickness of sinto the next - and d w liars and sons of the devil, tament, a bloodye people on

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sermon: Trinity 26 – 2012

18 November 2012 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA

Text: Matt 25:31-46 (Dan 7:9-14, 2 Pet 3:3-14)

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

We Christians sometimes catch it from all angles.  On the one hand, we have groups of people who have all sorts of crazy predictions of the end of the world.  The latest craze is the ancient Mayan calendar which supposedly informs us that we won’t really need to do any Christmas shopping this year.  Jesus warned us about such attempts to predict the date or the hour of the end of the present age.

On the other hand, there are scoffers out there who say: “Where is the promise of His coming?  For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation” as they deny the historical facts of the creation of the world and the worldwide flood described in Genesis.  This group mocks Christians for waiting expectantly for the Lord to return to create a new heaven and a new earth, to destroy all evil once and for all, and to reign forever.

All throughout history, we have charted this middle course against the unbelievers on the one hand, and against various heresies and cults on the other, who twist and distort Scripture into things God never reveals to us.  And we have seen their predictions fall one by one, as the scoffers have been there to mock them and us.

In the face of both, we confess with our fellow believers as we have since the year 325 AD: “And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.”

We do not wait in fear, but in joyful expectation.  For we know that our judge is merciful, and that the rightful penalty for our sins has been paid at the cross.  We know that our Judge is also our Advocate, that the one who will hold us in the scales of justice is also the Lamb whose blood has satisfied the law’s righteous demands. 

And we know that because of His bloody sacrifice and by virtue of our being baptized into His blood, owing to His grace, and according to His Word and promise, salvation has been given to us as a free gift.  Having been freed from trying to earn God’s mercy, from attempting to curry God’s favor, from seeking ways to convince God that we are something that we are not, instead, we have been freed up to do good works simply because they need done, with no other motivation than love.  We are not looking for a reward – for there is nothing left to give us, having received everything from the hand of the Son of God Himself!

Indeed, on the day of judgment, the righteous will ask: “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?  And when did we see you in prison and visit you?”

For such good works should flow out of a changed heart, not out of a desire to get something in return.  Indeed, dear friends, such good works are the life of the redeemed sinner who already has the promise of salvation rather than the struggle of a person hoping not to be cast into hell.  Such works are performed with no thought of being paid back, to the point where such deeds are simply done and forgotten about.

And in response, “Truly, I say to you,” says our Lord, “as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.”

When the Christian does good works for another human being, He is doing it to the God in whose image our neighbors have been created.  We are serving God when we serve our neighbor. 

And the opposite is also true.  Those whose hearts remain unchanged by the Lord’s grace will demonstrate this unconverted disposition by a refusal to do good works, and the Lord will say: “You did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me,” and “these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.”

What we do grows out of what (and who) we are.  And this reality has been revealed by our Lord’s love for us.  We cannot make ourselves righteous.  We cannot will ourselves to be good people.  We cannot draw good works out of an evil heart.  We can only get out of the way as the Lord makes us righteous by His miraculous will.  We can surround ourselves with the Word, with the Sacraments, with the Gospel, and with the promises of His grace.  And by that grace, we can carry out the tasks the Lord has given to us, not to earn salvation, but rather to “serve our neighbor and supply the proof that faith is living.”

Dear brothers and sisters, we cling to a living hope and a living faith, for we have a living Savior!  We worship a living God who has given us His living Word, a Spirit that rushes into us body and soul, bringing us into His living kingdom!

And even as these days grow darker, as storm clouds gather, as the times grow ominous, as the future appears gloomier – we do not fall off the horse to either the side of the cults or to the side of the scoffers.  We do not put our hope either in false teachers or unbelievers – but rather in the living Word, our living Savior, whose living Spirit impels us to living works.

We hold onto the vision given to Daniel: “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him.  And to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that al peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

So, dear brothers and sisters, let those who seek glory for themselves continue to make ridiculous predictions.  We shall not be concerned or worried.  Let the scoffer continue to follow their own sinful desires, overlooking the fact that “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” 

As for us, let us continue to live in the Lord’s mercy, content to serve our neighbor in His need – even as we serve the Lord through such ministrations.  Let us wait patiently “according to His promise” as “we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

And without fear and with joyful expectation, let us look with joy, hope, expectation, and eagerness to that day “when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him,” when “He will sit on His glorious throne,” forever and ever.  Amen!

on the sickness of sinto the next - and d w liars and sons of the devil, tament, a bloodye people on

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Living Economics

What a fantastic time we had last night!  The Hollywood family attended a lecture by Dr. Peter Boettke of the Economics Department of George Mason University who held forth at Loyola University (New Orleans).

We were tipped off about the talk by Dr. Walter Block of Loyola, whose enthusiastic endorsement was well-deserved!

Dr. Boettke is engaging, funny, passionate, and has the gift of making his subject come to life.  He had the packed lecture hall thinking and laughing.  He emphasizes that Economics is not a hard science, but rather an evolving and growing social science that is primarily involved with explaining human action.  It is at its heart an inquiry into human motivation through incentive, and it explains how it is that millions of people working in their own self-interest can bring goods and services to market to the benefit of all.

His love for the topic is contagious!

• He made reference to this video, which demonstrates the effect of political and economic freedom to the well-being of humanity.  
• He shared with us the remarkable insights and philosophy of the Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala City in which a year of study in free market Economics is a requirement for all students regardless of discipline, and in which the main mural on campus depicts the great tradition of Economics in the free market tradition.
• He emphasized the changing nature of education in the world due to technology, and pointed to the Acton MBA and iTunes University as examples.  He pointed out Leo in the audience and wondered aloud what his education is going to be like.

A few quotes from his lecture:

On Economics as a Discipline:

• "Economics is not a catechism, but rather an invitation to inquiry."
• "Economics is the mystery of the mundane."

On the Fiscal Cliff:
"They're not going to face the fiscal cliff.  They're gonna kick the grenade down the road."


On Greed:
"Greed is like air.  It's always there."


On Curiosity:
"Your curiosity is your greatest asset.  Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it fueled the scholar."

His outstanding book Living Economics ($26 at Amazon) is available for Nook and Kindle for about $12.  And yes, I went home and downloaded it.  I found out that Dr. Boettke wrote an essay in a book called Markets, Morals, & Religion - and put a hold on it at our local library (Dr. Boettke is a Christian as well).

Thanks to Dr. Boettke for coming to New Orleans and thanks to Dr. Block for the heads up!

Is 1984 now?

HT: Rev. Tony Bolen

A Little Optimism?

Check out this reality check by Jeffrey Tucker.

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What Happens When LCMS Churchmen Rap

I'm not sure, but Father Eckardt's hip may have been inspired by Bishop Behnke's hop:

This is what happens when Oktoberfest abandons the oom-pah. You should see what happens in our churches when they ditch the organs! Lor or ord have mer er cy! (Wait a minute, that's in the hymnal, yo!).

Walter Williams on the Morality of Free Markets

This was forwarded to me by the legendary Dr. Walter E. Block, Economics Professor at Loyola University, New Orleans.

I had met Dr. Walter E. Williams in Philadelphia twenty years ago when I presented an award to him from our local camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.  Dr. Williams was, and is, the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University.

 Both of these Doctor Walters (who share the middle name "Edward") are giants. Too bad our politicians and leaders in society from across the spectrum have never studied under either of them!

"Is Popcorn Paleo? Who Cares!" (and a Primal Update)

Karen De Coster is a tough-as-nails CPA from Detroit - and is one of those writers who is just plain fun to read.  She pens columns for Lew Rockwell, and tackles matters related to liberty, economics, and politics.  She is also an advocate for eating "paleo" or "primal."  She is also one of the few LRC essayists whom Lew Rockwell has given up on chiding or editing for vulgarity.  Karen is Karen.  And if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  So if R-rated language offends you, don't say you weren't warned if you go trolling around her columns.  I guarantee you this much: you will laugh, you will think, you will get ticked off at the government.  It's good for your brain!

Here is Karen in her own words:

I am a Certified Public Accountant and freelance writer who is devoted to the causes of liberty, individualism, and the free market. I embrace the right to keep and bear arms; recognize the superiority of the Articles of Confederation; subscribe to a motley assortment of minor conspiracy theories; and believe that government is evil, immoral, corrupt, and unnecessary in a free society. I am also an ardent lover and student of Austrian economics, the pro-market, anti-statist school of economics. Additionally, I proudly wear the title “Queen of Political Incorrectness”, given to me by my friend Tom DiLorenzo.

Anyway, I enjoyed her article here about the merits of popcorn - which is generally a huge "no no" when it comes to eating primally.

The bottom line?  "Who cares?"

I can relate to that!  I have not given a Primal Update in a while, and I'll just say this: it is the best thing I have done for my physical health ever!  I am still around 145 pounds (thirty pounds of belly-fat and four inches or more of trouser cloth the lesser).  I do not count calories, deprive myself, or maintain any rigorous discipline with food.  I most certainly do not consume anything "low calorie" or "low fat."  There is a very good side to fat!  Is it possible that all of this low-fat craze is making everybody fat?

Cured of "Dunlop's Disease" - too bad I didn't take a "before" pic

Having said that, I have completely reordered my eating habits.  Stuff I used to absolutely love and imagine I could not live without just doesn't get me too excited any more - things like bread, pizza, cookies, "snack cakes," soft drinks, candy, etc.

My taste buds have changed, and I just don't get wound up about those things any more.  I drink bubbly water now - maybe a bit flavored, maybe not - and consequently, Diet Coke tastes harsh to me now - kind of like something you clean mildew off of the shower with.  Having said that, if I want a soft drink - even a full-blown sugar drink - I'll have one.  And I do every now and then.  Sometimes I jones a bit for a root beer or a ginger ale.  So I have one.  And when we drink coffee (which is often in the Hollywood Residence) - we don't mess around: we use heavy whipping cream - no skim, no chemical powder, no government approved poison.  If we had an Amish "dealer" like Karen De Coster, that would be better than the store-bought cream we use - but when it comes to Paleo, it's like mainstream politics: the art of the possible.

But most of the time, I don't drink Cokes or eat sweets.  It's not because I'm on a "diet."  I simply have retrained my body and taste buds to recognize that this is junk food.  Having one won't kill me, but making a habit of it will make me fat, sickly, and tired.  And I have no desire to eat industrial waste.  If I want a goody, I want it to be a GOODy.  I want to savor it, enjoy it - not slurp it like a pig in a trough.

And this is why we do not skimp on antioxidant-rich dark chocolate in the Hollywood Manse.  We may even eat enough of it to give a calorie-counter or establishment physician or dietitian the vapors (which is always fun).  And on those rare occasions when I feel like some cheap chocolate (we have recently had Halloween, of course), I have one: be it a "fun size" Twix or a Reese's or a Snickers, etc.  I just don't really find myself craving it very often at all.  I can do without it just fine.

The same goes for cake and ice cream (I used to eat it by the ton).  Now, I'm really content with a small goûté.  I might even eat a whole piece for someone's birthday.  We visit CherryBerry for frozen yogurt fairly often - just not every day like our Baskin Robbins runs in a previous life.  Mrs. H. and I had a little taste of gelato a couple days ago, and our reaction was the same: "too sweet!"  We used to eat huge helpings, but now, just a couple spoonfuls was enough.  Still yummy, just not an obsession or outright gluttony.

And yet I am not "starving."  I do miss lunch fairly often, but my system is just fine.  I snack on nuts, fruits, and boiled eggs - and frankly, sometimes I'm just not that hungry at lunchtime.  And if we go out for fast food (which we are curbing not for health reasons so much as for economic austerity), I load up on burgers, bacon, steak, omelets, etc.  Yum!  One wonderful benefit is that we do eat at home a lot more, and we pull no punches: grilled steak, grilled chicken, grilled pork chops, and grilled vegetables (by the ton!).  I mean, how can that be anything but good?

I am still hoping to work in more physical activity.  Time is extremely scarce for me right now.  However, I am on my feet a lot at my secular job, and I try to perambulate around as much as possible - scurrying up and down the stairs whenever I can.  And when the really busy time of year passes, I hope to work in some simple physical muscle-building exercises.  Nevertheless, I wear the same size pants as I did in high school, and my belly is flat - which is not bad for a nearly fifty-something.

So, it's all good!  I like not being fat, not being tired, not being on the insulin roller coaster.  I like taking charge of my health, not visiting doctors, not following the uncritical advice of the Establishment.  I like not being on a diet, not counting calories, not keeping a log of what I eat or how I exercise, and enjoying our God-given freedom to eat and enjoy what I eat!

Bonus: here's a recent Karen De Coster piece on how government has messed up the modern washing machine.  And, by the way, you can subscribe to Karen De Coster's facebook here.

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Please Pray for Father Pavel

The Rev. Pavel Zayakin is a faithful parish pastor and evangelist in the Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church, a sister church body with the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.

I wrote about meeting Father Pavel here and here.  He is a heroic worker for the kingdom of God.

Anyway, the Most Rev. Vsevolod Lytkin, bishop of the SELC, wrote this on November 9:

Last Saturday afternoon Fr.Pavel Zayakin drove his car from remote village to Abakan [in the mountainous republic of Khakassia not far from Mongolia - Ed.], but accidentally gone out of road and turned upside down.

As road was empty, and nobody was to help, they walked to a nearest village.  They found a man with excavator who helped to turn the car back to the road.

The passengers and Fr.Pavel are OK but we need to organize medical checkup  for him.We ask you to pray for Fr.Pavel and his passengers.

In Christ,

Vsevolod,

bishop, SELC

If you would like to help, you can e-mail Bishop Vsevolod at vsevolodlytkin@hotmail.com or contact the Siberian Lutheran Mission Society at their website here: http://siberianlutheranmissions.com/.

Here are pictures of the accident sent by the bishop.  Lord, have mercy, and thanks be to God for his protection of this faithful servant and priest of the Lord Most High!  Our pastors in Siberia must often navigate treacherous roads as they provide pastoral care to people in remote areas.  Please keep them in your prayers on a regular basis!  

It's not Caturday, but it is Bathday!