Boundaries

We here at the home are taking in a study on boundaries. We’re using a book called “Boundaries”. On the cover, it says, “When to say YES; When to say NO to take control of your life.” It’s authored by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend.
We’ve just started the study, so I don’t know much about it yet. However, one thing I said during the introductory session was that I have been reading and studying the Bible for more years than I can count and have never associated God’s Word with the idea of setting boundaries in real life.
Now, you may think it a bit strange that I never made that association, but I rather imagine that there are a few things in the Bible that haven’t clicked for you. It should prove to be an interesting study, especially since one of the big things we work with our girls on is setting and observing proper boundaries in their behavior and attitudes.
Many times we seem to think of boundaries as being some sort of arbitrary and subjective ideas that exist because others want to make our lives miserable. We even think of that sometimes when it comes to God’s boundaries for us (now admit it…you’ve thought of God as the ultimate mean parent, haven’t you!).
This should prove to be an interesting study. After all, God created boundaries when He created the creation. So they are, when used as He intends, good. I think we’re going to have a ten-session study over the same number of weeks. It may be an enlightening ten weeks.

You Get What You Get

My, my, but isn’t it a mite nippy here (and elsewhere). I would say something funny about where’s global warming when you need it, but I think that’s something we need to take a serious look at. I’m not convinced the doomsday folks are correct; neither do I think those on the other side are necessarily correct when they poo-poo the whole idea. I wish I’d hear from someone who is an authority who doesn’t otherwise have an agenda, political, financial, or philosophical, to peddle. Now, that WOULD be refreshing, wouldn’t it?
I got some comments on the cold showers. By the way, I’ve not had to turn off the hot water…yet. It’s interesting what folks comment on and what they leave alone. I wudda never thunk that showers could push some folks’ buttons. I guess I live and learn.
Arthur (arthritis) has come to visit me rather big-time this week. I can barely move my thumbs at all, and they hurt constantly, even with Aleve in my system. I hope this cold goes away soon. I got out the hot paraffin bath this morning. It’s still warming up after being plugged in for two hours. I can’t wait to bask in its warmth for a few minutes. If you are plagued by stiff hand joints, invest $20 in a paraffin bath. Most drug stores (I got mine at Walgreens) have them. Besides, they help keep skin from drying out and cracking.
I know this is just kind of a potpourri of things. But I feel kind of pot-whatever today. You get what you get.

Holidays and Such

Today is Valentine’s Day. I’m not sure of the origin of the day and don’t really care. To me, it’s not a big deal; just as any other holiday isn’t a big deal. We aren’t doing much here in the cottage either, but one of the girls did volunteer to get up early and fix heart-shaped pancakes. She also cut out a heart shape from the middle of a slice of bread and put an egg into it and cooked it. The effort was laudable, even if not all of the pancakes and eggs were perfect.
Look at the things we celebrate during any given year. The new year. Love. Our honored dead. The independence of our nation. The laborer. God’s providence and goodness. The birth of Jesus. Yes, I know there are many, many others, but these seem to be the big ones.
Why do we choose these things? Why not other things that are also important? I don’t know, but I do know that even though I don’t make much of a to-do about holidays, life would be much more dull and routine without the occasional break.
So, if you’re like me and don’t do much with holidays, at least enjoy the break from the mundane and savor the enjoyment of others as they celebrate. Happy Valentine’s Day.

To Toe the Line

Try as I might, I can’t figure out what people do in the shower for 20, 30, 45 minutes. How long does it take to wash body parts? Now, I know that especially in the winter, a hot shower is soothing and comforting, but there’s only so much soothe and comfort that can be had from a spray of warm (or hot) water. Beyond that, it becomes something to be endured, not savored.
We’re having “issues” with long showers here at the home. I understand that girls maybe might need to be in there a couple minutes longer, due to hair, etc., but I can’t fathom the necessity of a 30 minute trip under the falls, so to speak.
So we’ve made yet another rule (sigh). I know where the hot water cut-off valve is in the basement and will not hesitate to use it when I deem it to be appropriate. I can just imagine the cries of the first one upon whom I impose the “That’s all, folks!” rule. Actually, in a possibly somewhat perverse way I’m looking forward to doing it, because it usually only takes one or two times…then they all get it and toe the line. It’s kind of interesting to see that process take place.
Now, if we can just get parents and caregivers on board and “toe the line” early on in the lives of their children, so I won’t even need to be here….

This Is the Day

I love caring for girls. I had only been out of our room for a minute or two when an “issue” came forth regarding one of the girls hogging the bathroom and taking a tub bath in the morning when three other people needed to use the bathroom. Of course, the tub bath person was totally miffed at having people knock on the bathroom door, and the others were miffed because the tub bath person ran the water heater dry.
I managed to quell the developing revolt and lynching in the hallway and will issue an edict today that henceforth, all bathing in the morning hours will be shower only and only for ten minutes or less. I know where the hot water valve is in the basement and will readily cut off the hot water to the offender who showers longer than 10 minutes. Having to complete the shower in cold water may help deter would-be slackers.
Of course, that won’t be the only consequence. Extra chores, room time, or other consequences will reinforce the lesson.
---30 minutes later---Now I have two girls on thirty minutes chair time for having their bedroom door closed when no one was changing or otherwise needing it closed. One of those in the chair also has the consequence of going to church today without any makeup because she was applying it in her room, yet another infraction.
It’s been an interesting morning so far, and promises to get even better as the day lurches onward. I’ve yet to do room checks, which will come in 10 minutes (I know at least a couple of areas aren’t picked up, and won’t be by the “deadline”. How do I know that? I dunno…I guess a house dad’s intuition). We may have attitude issues in church or later that we’ll need to deal with, ad infinitum.
“This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Time Off

Today is Friday. For many, it’s the start of a weekend filled with alternate activities. Alternate, that is, to the normal work world of Monday through Friday. Some will go on a day trip somewhere. Others will shop. Some will do chores like clean the garage or change the oil in the car. Yet others will use the weekend to catch up on household and other things that they didn’t have time to do during the week…laundry, bill-paying, cooking, cleaning.
For us, though, the weekend is work just as during the week, except we don’t have time during the day when the girls are off to school. They’re with us all the time and require supervision all the time. There’s no such thing as leaving the girls at the house and our going off for lunch somewhere. We work 24-7 during the time we’re on duty, so this weekend will actually be more intense as far as work is concerned.
The nice thing about this arrangement, though, is that we get a week off every fourth week. We work three weeks on and have a full week off. That takes some getting used to, because we just aren’t familiar with taking that much time off in one chunk, and doing so every four weeks.
Sometimes we go someplace and visit the kids or whoever. Sometimes we just sit at the house and enjoy the quiet. Other times, we’ll take in a concert or theater if something good is playing. Often, we’ll find time during that time to see family, whether hers or mine.
We don’t have our next week off for a couple more weeks. So this week, we’ll enjoy having the girls with us and working with them on things that are of importance to their well-being. Meanwhile, we’ll look forward, in the back of our minds, to a couple of weeks from now when we can relax and take some time to ourselves.

Wise as Serpents

I was just spammed by someone who wants to award me with an honorary doctorate. Just for kicks, I went to the website. Come to find out they say they are in Pennsylvania, and will also offer other degrees. I can get a “real” doctorate for a minimum $2,500 “freewill offering” sent in advance by bank draft.
You know, I should print up my own degree. I can do it for much, much less than $2,500 and don’t have to give anyone any personal information, with which they can steal my identity. Oh, yes, that’s a requirement, too. Personal information sufficient to populate a phony driver’s license, along with two photos, passport size. Guess what they’ll use THAT information for.
I haven’t a clue why anyone would respond to such a come-on. And I myself briefly was taken in on this site, because I wondered if they had a real address or were just a mail drop. The site showed photos of a church and other buildings, saying that it was the location of the university. I caught myself thinking, “Well, at least there is a real location.”
Then I thought, “How do I know that these photos are photos of THEIR buildings, and not just some buildings somewhere that they choose to photograph?” What is it about these things that makes us believe what we see on a screen, even when we know that it’s a scam?
It’s just that kind of gullibility, as demonstrated by Yours Truly, that sucks otherwise intelligent people into these things and causes all kinds of problems. Some would argue that we desire to please and not offend. Others would say that we want to believe the best in others. I don’t disagree with that.
But I turn to Christian Scripture and say that Jesus himself said we were to be “wise as serpents”. That must mean something, even outside of the context in which it was said. A little preventive medicine goes a long way in this arena.

Redeeming the Time

It’s the start of yet another day. I wonder how many days I have seen come and go in my lifetime. Let’s see, 365 ¼ days every year (to account for leap years) times 57 is 20,819, plus another 100 days or so for this current partial year is almost 21,000 mornings that have come my way.
So, what have I done with those 21,000 chances to make a difference? What have I done with the time that has been given to me? Why was I given any chances at life at all?
Yes, I know that some of those chances came when I was a year old and didn’t have a clue what philosophical questions were. But by far, most of those mornings came when and while I was very much aware of my existence and my shot at life.
It’s a rather sobering thought to know that most times I didn’t give it a second thought. I never had an inkling that I should be making the most of the time (How does the Bible say it… “redeeming the time”?) given to me.
Don’t obsess over it today, but just think today for a minute or two about the days you’ve already been given and what you’ve done with them. If you come up short, don’t beat yourself silly; rather start the process of redeeming the time in a manner worthy of the incredible gift you’ve been given.

A Wonderful World

In church today we sang number 180 in the songbook. Oh, you don’t know that one, do you, because you don’t have the same book that we have. OK. It is Jesus Is Lord and goes like this:

Jesus is Lord, my redeemer,
How He loves me, how I love him.
He is risen, He is coming,
Lord come quickly, Hallelujah.

In the singing of the song, the men start out and the women follow with their part. On the last verse, there is a female descant that goes like this:

He was born to die on Calvary’s tree
To redeem a lost humanity.
Conqu’ring death He rose triumphantly;
And He reigns thru all eternity.

Now, these words don’t mean nearly as much seeing them on a page as they did when we sang them this morning. We sing acappella in our church, and the descant was just gorgeous. Female voices joined in song are truly God’s handiwork and a part of God’s design for beauty and grace.
I am blessed to be able to hear voices praising in song, symphonies immersed in music, and crows outside caw-ing in the trees. What a wonderful world this is.

The Eagle

When we left church this morning, one of the men outside pointed over to the river and said there was a bald eagle over there. We looked and sure enough, one was flying over the river, sometimes diving down to the water. He was far enough away we couldn’t see what he was diving for, but presumed it was some kind of fish or food.
Eagles once were an endangered species and still aren’t back in that many numbers. However, it isn’t unusual to see them here in Kansas this time of year around rivers and bodies of water, even in town as we were (our church is in downtown Wichita).
The eagle has managed to become a symbol of everything good about America. Power, strength, grace and beauty are all part of it. Size undoubtedly plays a part in our associating the eagle with our nation. But the part I like best is the way the eagle is depicted on the Great Seal of the United States…with the olive branch in one (the right) talon. It has always been a mark of a great nation to work harder to wage peace as to make war. I pray that we will always be a nation that loves peace.

American Ingenuity

It’s snowing again. We’ve already had a couple of inches, and it looks from the radar image (isn’t the Internet wonderful!) that there’s more on the way. This time, though, we’re prepared.
We (the home) bought a blade to put on the Dixie Chopper mower we bought last year. It’s a stout blade, made of the finest iron available, and welded together by men and women in America (I think so, anyway) that know a good product when they see one.
We got the one with the manual lift on it. We could have gotten an electric lift, but didn’t see the need to spend another two hundred dollars on something we didn’t really need. I was wondering just how this manual lift would work, and found out yesterday when the mower was delivered, complete with blade attached.
The blade is naturally held in the “up” position by a couple of heavy springs. When the operator wants to blade something, he (or she) puts his foot on a pedal that sticks back from the blade and presses forward. That provides a direct link to the blade, overcoming the springs, and the blade does what blades are supposed to do. To raise the blade, just let off of the foot pressure.
American ingenuity is at work here, folks. Who else would of thought of good old-fashioned foot pressure to facilitate a job being done. That being said tongue in cheek, the mower and the blade are indeed hefty pieces of work, not at all like some of the cheap stuff I’ve had in the past made of tin and paint. This thing is built to lastl…sort of like my smaller mower. It too (a Snapper) is made in America and will probably outlast me by many years. It cost more than the cheap ones sold by Sears, Ace and others, but I’ll only ever have to buy this one.
Time to blade the drive.

I Can't Stand It

If you've read this in an email I sent earlier, I'm sorry. However, I thought this was good enough to put on the blog.


Our new resident, Rachel, transferred here at semester break. She's a freshman and attended a private Christian academy in the Newton area the first semester. When she came here, the officials at the school said that some of her credits might not transfer, and that they would check on it.
Not having heard anything in almost a month, I went to see Mr. Jiltman, the counselor and said, "What do I need to do in order to facilitate the transfer of credits from the private school?"
He immediately pointed me to the Registrar. I ask the registrar, "Ma'am, I'm Jay Plank with Maude Carpenter Children's Home. Rachel is a new transfer and resident of the home. She transferred here from a private school in the Newton area, but we've not heard whether or not her credits have transferred. What do I need to do in order to facilitate that decision?"
The nice registrar lady said, "(last name), (last name). I think I've tried to get that transcript. I don't have it"
She riffles around her desk and hauls out a scuzzy sheet of paper with Rachel's name on it. It's a request for records. "I've tried to FAX this to them twice, but someone there always picks up the phone before the FAX answers."
So I say, "Ma'am, is there anything I need to do in order to have them get you the records you need?"
"No, I'll just call them."
She picks up the phone, calls and talks to someone who says that she won't answer the phone when it rings and will let it go to the FAX.
The registrar then hangs up, FAX'es the request, and all is well.
I ask, "When should I check back to see if they sent the records or if there's anything I need to do to get them?"
"You can check back in a couple of days. I'm usually very good about transferring credits as soon as the information comes in."
I thanked her profusely and left. I didn't have a melt-down until I left the building, thankfully.

I guess to answer my question of what do I need to do to facilitate this, I guess I need to go visit the registrar and wait until she makes a phone call. These people are very good at what they do, when you can get 'em motivated to do it. They're friendly, helpful, and competent I'm just not sure why I have to make so many personal visits to the school to get something done. I can't stand it.

Learned Behavior

This is Saturday and we’re getting our Rachel fix. For those who are having thoughts of drugs and needles, you can rest easy. Rachel is our granddaughter, and we’re visiting our son and family for the day.
She’s really grown in the past month or so, and is quite animated. She’s vocal and sassy, and knows who is in charge in THIS household. She can sit up, eats solid (well, pureed) food, and seems to be developing quite nicely.
Nowadays, we just expect this to happen routinely. Babies are born, they grow normally, and they become adults. If there are problems, we have the technology to fix them and we can go on with life. It becomes the expectation that everything will be perfect and that things will be great.
But it isn’t always so. Sometimes there are problems that technology can’t fix. Sometimes babies are aborted, whether naturally or otherwise. Sometime, even when babies are normal, they’re born into families that aren’t, and the problems and issues of the family are transferred to the baby in a kind of continuation that should never happen.
Some things can’t be helped. Some babies develop birth defects. Some babies develop medical problems following birth that can’t be fixed.
But many things can be helped. Elective abortion, dysfunctional families, and access to adequate medical care are the products of the choices that adults make in life…choices that could have been made in another direction.
When are we going to start making good choices for our babies?

An Insidious Logic

I can’t believe I’m doing this. It’s 5:15am and I’ve already showered, shaved, and well, whatever else goes along with that. I’ve made coffee and hear one of the girls in the shower as I start this (It can’t be Paige…has to be Rebecca).
Our niece who is battling an eating disorder is checking into a clinic in the St Louis area today. She’s expecting to stay 60 days on an inpatient, then later an outpatient basis. She’s been fighting this demon for several years now.
There are a lot of things in this world I don’t understand. One of them is anorexia/bulimia. This one just baffles me as being so against logic and reason. Oh yes, I know that it has it’s own logic and it’s own reason. But because it doesn’t fit my norm, I’m not comfortable with it. I can’t relate to it. I can’t even fathom how someone could think that way.
However, what I might think about this doesn’t matter a lot. What matters is that some how, some way she is given the tools (and uses them) to beat back the insidious logic of starvation by not eating and then purging what is eaten.
Some of you who are reading this know about this situation. Some don’t. Many of you are religious. Some aren’t. Whatever your “stripe”, keep Michele in your thoughts and prayers these next few weeks as she continues to battle this devil. You might want to follow her progress on her blog http://decorperpoena.blogspot.com/
Don’t ask why that particular name. I have no earthly clue, but somehow, I think Michele knows.

The Real Deal

For those who were becoming used to my writing every day or so, I purposely did not write for a couple of days. I certainly didn’t want to get you used to checking in every day for something new, even if that something new wasn’t important, had little meaning in life, and was a strain to write (chuckle).
Actually, some days I feel more like writing than not; others just the thought of trying to put something down on paper (figuratively speaking, of course) is almost stomach-turning. The last couple of days just haven’t been conducive to my writing.
I’ve been battling some kind of crud…sore throat, chills, some nausea, general aches and pains (more than the normal from arthritis). Today I feel pretty good except for a sore throat.
I’ve told Pat and others more than once during this time, however, that what I have pales in comparison to what someone like Dennis and Phyllis are going through right now. Dennis is an elder at our church with brain cancer. They’ve done the treatments, etc., but the prognosis doesn’t look really rosy right now.
Dennis has been strong and resilient, singing of the mercies of the Lord his God all during this time. He continues his work as a shepherd of the congregation, visiting, counseling, praying, and leading with the kind of servant leadership I think God expects from His people.
Sore throats can be the pits. Aches and pains are a hassle. Brain cancer, though, is the real deal and is a great separator of the sheep from the goats (to borrow a phrase). Dennis has shown himself a sheep in every good sense of the word. Now if I can just imitate Dennis as he imitates Christ….

Snow Wimps

The snow is over. Nothing, it seems, is open in Wichita. The churches, for the most part, have cancelled services today, including ours. I don’t know. It seems like people any more are being overly cautious when snow falls or there is a significant weather event. They seem to be very quick to cancel school, cancel work, cancel church, etc.
I know it seems like we older folks always hark back to the olden days, but I have to wonder whether we would have cancelled church 40 years ago because of a six inch snowfall with temperatures in the low 30’s and no wind. I hardly think so.
Some of the older folks wouldn’t venture out, but many would be there anyway because someone would come by to get them and see that they arrived safe and sound. They may have then taken them home for lunch and made an afternoon of fellowship out of it.
I was somewhat disappointed that we cancelled church today, even though we had our own services in the cottage, and the girls did very well with an “offering” from the Bible. There’s just something about meeting with others that makes Sundays feel complete and whole.
Out on the High Plains, folks don’t give up unless the wind is blowing 40 miles an hour, it’s 10 below, and the snow is drifting 3 feet or higher. And even then, some guys will get out their tractors or snow runners and plow through the drifts or cruise over them anyway. And there are many out in those parts that have to do that in order to care for livestock, have water to drink, or provide for some other necessity.
Thankfully, we don’t get this kind of snow often in Wichita. I shudder to think what might happen to our economic engine if, every time we had a few flakes (so to speak), we shut down everything until it blew over.

Beating the Band and Reality Checks

Well, as B.L., Ella, and some others of my relatives would say, “It’s snowing to beat the band!” I was never sure what that really meant, so I looked it up in the source and fount of all information: the Internet.
Michael Quinion, on his website, World Wide Words http://www.worldwidewords.org gives several possible explanations, most of which are Irish in origin, then says in summation, “I’m fairly sure that to beat the band originally meant that you sang or played or shouted louder even than an orchestra and so, by later extension, came to refer to anything superlative. Just for once, the common-sense explanation may be the correct one, and there’s no need to invoke Irish towns or Irish storytellers, let alone banshees.”
So, there you have it. In at least this man’s opinion, the phrase has no spectacular beginnings; rather it just means what it means. How novel that idea is!
We like to attach long, exciting explanations to just about anything in order to gussy things up a bit, and are very keen, it seems, on passing along urban legends via email and in face-to-face gossip. Everything from Bob Keeshan (Captain Kangaroo of CBS Television fame in the 50’s and 60’s) to plastic containers (supposedly containing poisons that are released when they are microwaved) is the subject of these urban legends, which seem to continue to have a life of their own even though they’ve been proven false time after time.
When a person’s fantasy of life becomes more realistic and exciting than the reality, that person needs a reality check in the worst way and has issues beyond the norm. Real life is, when properly experienced, so much more than the artificiality of fantasy that there should be no comparison. Try it sometime.

Vicious Circle

I’m not sure why I feel more like writing this week. Perhaps it’s an attempt to outwit the winter blahs. Maybe I’m doing it because I feel “closed in” by the bad weather, ice and another approaching snow storm. Or it could be that I feel very inspired this week…nah.
I wonder why we have to have reasons for the things we do. It seems that I always try to attach some kind of reasoning to my actions (or inactions). That seems to give them validity and meaning of some kind that doesn’t seem to be there those few times when I don’t bother to go through the rationalizing process.
Aahhh, there it is. Rationalizing. “To explain one’s behavior plausibly without recognizing true motives.” Could it possibly be that I am rationalizing when I try to explain in my mind why I am doing or not doing something? Could it be that I’m covering up some kind of behavior that isn’t good for me by telling myself some cockeyed explanation of why I need to do it or avoid doing it? Am I trying to cover up my true motives by engaging in the justification process? Would I be doing myself a favor by not rationalizing and justifying everything? Maybe if I gradually quit....
I think my head’s beginning to hurt. Because, you see, I’m doing it again. I’m trying to justify why I have to justify everything. I'm rationalizing my habit of rationalizing! AAARRRRGGGG!!!

"And So It Goes"

The ice has hung on here in these parts. Yesterday, the sun was behind clouds most of the day, and not much melting occurred. This is kind of unusual for this part of Kansas. Normally, the snow or ice comes, then melts relatively quickly.
Out in Western Kansas and on the Great Plains, the snow and ice can linger for weeks at a time, gradually becoming dirty and trod down. It gets a little old to have to drive on ice and navigate slick sidewalks for that long.
Then there was the year out in Goodland, where we lived for a time, when the water pipes that were buried in the ground up to four or more feet froze. We were told to keep our water running, and that the thaw wouldn’t come anytime soon.
Of course, when the snows melted that winter, the water didn’t soak into the frozen ground, but ran off instead. Out in those parts of the country, that’s like watching gold slip from your fingers into the abyss.
I don’t know if they will suffer the same fate this year as in that year. There’s been a lot of wild weather out in those parts already, and winter isn’t over yet. Thankfully, a lot of that weather has also brought much-needed water and a cover to protect against the cold.
There appears, in this creation, to be good even in things that at first appear to be bad. Snow and ice cause havoc in our society, but bring much-needed water and insulation to the landscape. Cold is hard on people and animals that have to bear it, but brings relief from insects, weeds, and other pests. To borrow a phrase from Linda Ellerbee, “And so it goes.”

I Know the Plans I Have For You

I talked in the last blog about the movie A League of Their Own. I think there may be another lesson in that movie from the rivalry between the sisters. Dottie (Geena Davis) and Kit (Lori Petty) are a big sister-kid sister duo who make it into the women’s league together. Due to continuing rivalry (mostly in Kit’s head), Kit switches to another team.
The inevitable showdown comes in the World Series when Dottie’s team and Kit’s team are in that series together. The action scenes in that part of the movie are almost a side show to what I see as the real emotions that come through when Dottie sees Kit in her dugout, angry, pouting, self-pitying, and crying, yet determined as she copes with the emotions of battling head to head with an older sister that she has always looked up to, yet is jealous of because she believes Dottie is so much better and has had the better breaks in life.
I hear in that scene series an unspoken line Dottie might have said to Kit, “How badly do you want it? How badly do you want to succeed? Are you willing to put aside all of the jealousy and anger and pouting and self-pity and work your heart out to attain the goal?”
Now, friend, look at yourself. Look at your lot in life and then take note of the excuses you use to justify why you are where you are instead of where you want to be. Do you shift the blame for your misfortune to other people or external events? Are you still trying to convince someone (or yourself) that what has happened to you isn’t fair? Are you envious of those who have seemed to have overcome adversity and have risen to the top?
Be honest, now. And be grateful that God has given you yet another chance to allow Him to mold you into what He wants for you. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 29:11-14a

It's Supposed to Be Hard

“It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great." – Manager Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) talking to catcher Dottie Hinsen (Geena Davis) about quitting the women’s baseball league in the movie “A League of Their Own”.
One of the girls we currently have here at the home will sometimes, in defense of her not completing a project, say “It’s too hard!” I’ve used various comebacks in the past, but I may try to come back in the future with, “It’s supposed to be hard.” What I’ve been saying hasn’t worked too well, and it may be time to change.
On a larger scale, we tend to look at some of the things that life throws to us as being “too hard” for us to do. When the job is too hard, we’ll quit and find an easier one. When the marriage becomes too hard, we’ll quit and find some other relationship. When school becomes too hard, we’ll just quit and do something else.
I think in many respects, life is supposed to be hard. There’s a lot of truth in Jimmy Dugan’s words, and I fear that we’ve lost sight of the truth that doing something that is hard to do is what makes it great.

Growing Pains

It’s cold here today, and as I sit in my office, I hear one of the girls down hall (none have gotten up and around yet) having a rather nasty cough. It’s one of those coughs that you just know hurts when it comes on. I’m hoping that we can get through this winter without a lot of infection and passing around of bugs, but in a setting like this, even with the Lysol and admonitions to wash hands, things still get around.
It’s kind of that way with attitudes as well. It seems that attitudes are contagious. When someone is in a funk, everyone tends to be a little on guard. If someone has an “I don’t care” attitude, that too seems to get around.
It’s especially noticeable when a new girl moves into the home. The first thing she does, whether she or anyone else notices or not, is measures the general attitudes of everyone including cottage parents. She then tailors her actions and responses to what she sees and finds in the others.
Maintaining a positive attitude is hard in a setting like this, for staff and residents alike. It’s so easy to get caught up in negativity or just rotten attitudes in general. It’s a constant battle for me to stay on top of my attitudes, as well as encourage the girls and others to stay on top of theirs. But the payoffs are tremendous when it all works together to create an environment where everyone, staff and residents, can grow and develop.

Communication

We have treatment team meeting in about 45 minutes. That’s where staff and therapists meet weekly to discuss the girls and their progress (or lack thereof) and act on any pass requests or program modifications.
We try to hold the meeting to an hour, but that’s very difficult to do. That’s about 7 minutes per girl, and some of them just need more discussion time than what is allowed. I know people have things to do, but….
However, it’s good that we get together for even the length of time that we do. Good communication is vital to the success of this program. I have been very impressed by the difficulties we’ve encountered in our attempts to foster good communication. We try hard in this Christian environment to do the right thing. I shudder to think what would happen to communication here if the environment would be self-serving rather than others-serving.

Is This Heaven??

It was wonderful. My whole day was made this evening. Oh, you don’t know, do you. OK. Tonight, our church hosted a choir from a university in Texas, which was affiliated with our denomination. They sang all a cappella and had a really nice program. But the really cool part of it was when they invited any who wanted to do so to join them in the singing of their final song, “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” with the 7-fold Amen.
I didn’t go to the stage as did some of the others in the group who were better singers than I. But I did sing from my seat, just a few rows from the front. I know the bass line well, having sung it for several years in a quartet.
There’s something magical about voices that blend in song, especially a cappella singing, that just captivates me. I like to sing anyway, and although my voice is not polished, I know notes and can pick up tunes very well. I also do a good job singing on key.
Tonight, however, having the privilege of singing with 50 voices much younger and better than my own, singing a song that stirs me deep within, was just almost too much. All too quickly, it was over. But the memory of that will probably hang with me for a lifetime.
If you don’t understand my joy, you probably don’t sing, and don’t appreciate it as much as I do. That’s OK. We all are different and enjoy different things. But for me, tonight was just about as good as it gets.

Let Freedom Ring

Randy, our director, was talking with the girls last night about times when it seems like "it'll never end." The context was regarding one girl who wants to go back home to live, but wants to do it now instead of waiting and wading through the hoops. We think she's about ready to go home, and will probably go in just a few weeks, but we have things that need to happen in order to make that happen.

I was thinking as he was talking about that, that we too have times in our lives when we think it "will never end." Whether it's kids growing up, interminable work, selling a house, getting ahead financially, or whatever it is, we at times find ourselves slogging through the pits of life in what seems to be an existence with no end in sight and no finish line in view.

I can't imagine what Paul must have been thinking as he sat in dungeon after dungeon, sometimes for years at a time, sometimes without even having seen a judge, all because of the Good News that God loves us.

I'm reminded of the song "Let Freedom Ring" written, I believe by Bill and Gloria Gaither. I repeat the lyrics below and commend them to you.

Deep within, the heart has always known that there was freedom,
Somehow breathed into the very soul alive.
The prisoner, the powerless, the saved have always known it;
There's something that keeps reaching for the sky.

Even life begins because a baby fights for freedom,
And songs we love to sing have freedom's theme.
Some have walked through fire and flood to find a place of freedom,
And some faced hell itself for freedom's dream.

Let freedom ring wherever minds know what it means to be in chains
Let freedom ring wherever hearts know pain,
Let freedom echo through the lonely streets where prisons have no key
We can be free and we can sing --- let freedom ring,

God built freedom into every fiber of creation,
And He meant for us to all be free and whole.
When my Lord bought freedom with the blood of His redemption,
His cross stamped pardon on my very soul.

I'll sing it out with every breath, I'll let the whole world hear it,
This hallelujah anthem of the free.
That iron bars and heavy chains can never hold us captive,
The Son has made us free and free indeed.

Let freedom ring down through the ages from a hill called Calvary,
Let freedom ring wherever hearts know pain.
Let freedom echo through the lonely streets where prisons have no key,
You can be free and you can sing let freedom ring.
Let freedom echo through the lonely streets where prisons have no key,
You can be free and you can sing let freedom ring,
You can be free and you can sing --- let freedom ring --- let freedom ring.

It’s always good to have some time off and away from things. The past week or two has been that time for many of us. I realize that some of us got a long weekend, and that was about it; many others had several days off or took some vacation time during this time of year in order to stretch out the time off.
But now it’s time to get back to the routine of daily living. Get up, shower, shave, go to work, come home, etc. You know the drill. We easily become bored with the same-old same-old and long for the weekends or the three-day holiday break. We then work harder on those weekends catching up with laundry, housework, or recreation than we do in the middle of the week.
I guess one overriding question for those of us who have routine jobs, routine days, and routine weeks is, “Where is God in all of this?” Is He a silent partner, tailing along behind you as you go through your week? Is He there at all? Or have you put God up front and are following His lead, even during the routine and mundane?
One of my relatives has said that he doesn’t believe that God is concerned about the small things of his life. I have always begged to differ with him, but until now haven’t had anything much to back up my “differing”. I saw in a recent article (I believe in Christianity Today) that Jesus himself told us to pray for our daily food. If God expects us to pray for our daily calories and vitamins, why would He not want us to pray for other things that seem to us to be small, ordinary, and routine things?
Yes, I know that for some, daily food was (and is) a big deal. Many didn’t have it. Certainly Jesus knew that, and certainly he also knew that for others, food was (and would be) the least of their worries. Yet he tells us nonetheless to pray for our food and daily provision.
I think God wants to be involved even in our mundane and routine. We would do well to let Him in. Maybe if we did, the routine would suddenly not be so routine any more.

The New

Well, it’s the new year. Officially, we’re only into the year a little over an hour, and the earth hasn’t completed it’s rotation to the point that it’s the new year the world over. But here it is nevertheless.
This is many times the place where I would reflect on the year past, or I would talk about hope for the year to come. I’ll spare you those things this time and just say that for all of the fuss we make about times and seasons, there’s not really much different about today than yesterday. Although we no longer have Saddam Hussein to deal with, we have other, more pressing issues that carried right over to this year from the last…hanging on and quickly becoming the baggage of the new, just as they were the baggage of the old.
The past is gone; the future is not yet here. The present moment is all we really have. Any hope we might have has to be hinged not in a future that may or may not be there, but rather on something immovable…set…permanent…concrete…(you fill in your own adjective). The only thing I know that is like that is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that we see in the Holy Bible. Nothing else compares with the God of the Bible. Nothing else makes the claim to be unchanging and permanent. Nothing else claims to be eternal, both past and future. Nothing else comes even close.

A Troubling Account

I was reading an account of the hanging of Saddam Hussein today from the local newspaper. In the article, it was said that one of the three executioners told Saddam just before he was hanged, “God damn you.” Saddam reportedly looked at the hooded man and said, “God damn you,” back to him.
I don’t know if I’ll come to any kind of conclusion in this blog about this exchange. I just have kind of a rambling of thoughts that will probably come out in some kind of jumbled fashion.
For one who within the next five minutes would find out with certainty if there is life beyond the grave, and if so whether or not Jehovah God is indeed God of the universe, and if so, whether or not Jesus is indeed the Christ and Messiah, this exchange is indeed troubling to me.
If there is no life beyond the grave, no Jehovah, no Jesus Christ the Eternal Son, then Saddam had nothing to worry about and his executioner and he both said something that had no meaning.
If, however, there IS life beyond the grave, and if there IS a god named Jehovah, then both executioner and the executed have said something that may have profound and lasting effects upon each of them. I shudder to think of entering into the presence of Jehovah having just condemned a man to damnation. I also shudder to think of entering into the presence of Jehovah having just been condemned in such a manner.

Just Stuff

We're here at theCentral Kansas in-laws this afternoon. We had a pleasant drive up here and many of the relations were here for hamburgers, potato salad, beans, deviled eggs, angel food cake, etc. A pretty good spread, huh.
The family is growing...in numbers, that is. We continue to add a grandchild here, a great grand-child there, an in-law over there. It's good to see families grow and expand, but it becomes somewhat difficult to keep track of them all, especially if they're only seen once or so a year.
We had friends stop in Wichita earlier today and toured the home, then bought us lunch. We were happy to see them and hope that we'll have more time with them sometime soon.
I told them that my wife and I were "acutely aware" of the thoughts and prayers given on our behalf as we tend to our work at the children's home. I told them that I didn't know how we knew that...we just knew it somehow. We take great comfort in knowing that people are praying for us and we hope that our prayers for them and for others "avail much" as the Good Book says.'
Another 30 hours or so and it will be the new year. I'm not sure what that means, but this may be the last post for 2006. I dunno. Anyway, thanks for seeing us through this year and we look forward to what comes ahead, knowing that the Creator Himself is guiding and directing our steps.

Good News

Today I heard from the grandmother of one of the girls who had gone home for the holidays. She’s still home and I called wanting to know if the new arrival (Mom was expecting a baby) had come yet.
Yes, the baby came on the 24th and everything was fine, except Grandma had broken her leg and wasn’t able to care for the family as she intended to do. She had to keep her leg elevated except for a few minutes at a time.
Grandma was also very gushing in her praise of Mary (not her real name) and how she has pitched in and helped during this time of stress, holiday, and change. She wants to keep her as long as possible in order to help out as much as possible around the house.
We were pleased to hear that. Sometimes it seems like we don’t see many changes in the lives of the girls we keep here, and it takes something like this to bring us back to reality and the notion that God is using us to work His will here.
The days plod on and the troubles and problems just keep coming. We continue to work with them, God working within us to demonstrate just a little of His love and care for His creation. With this kind of report, we have the strength and energy to plod on until some day there will be no more plodding…no more need for what we do. Even so come quickly, Lord Jesus.

The 58th Christmas

Today is Christmas Eve, 2006. Tomorrow will mark the 58th Christmas that I’ve witnessed (although I must say that I certainly can’t remember them all). A lot has changed since the 1949 Christmas in my hometown. Of course I don’t recall it since I was only two months old. I would imagine, however, that my older brothers had a good time, got some presents, and we probably went to some relatives for Christmas dinner.
Our son and his family were here for a couple of days. Our granddaughter is cute as ever (of course they are!!) and we are grateful for that family and pleased that our daughter in law chose to be part of our family (and we theirs). We had my brother and sister over last night for cards and games. We opened gifts this evening as well.
We will host my brother and sis tomorrow for lunch (ham, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, etc) and an afternoon of visiting and good times. Then clean up and a couple of days with one or two of the girls before our time is ended and we get a week off.
All in all, a traditional, ordinary holiday for us. But there’s something special about the traditional and ordinary that makes it anything but that. We cherish and relish these times, possibly because they tend to jolt us back, after dealing daily with a crazy and wild world, to what is truly important in our lives…family, relationships, love, and acceptance.
I’m not a doom and gloom prophet. There is good in this world, and I know that our Creator said it was good when He finished His work. But this is also a fallen creation groaning and longing for release from bondage. We need this jolt…this shot…this time of tradition and custom…to bring us some sanity, sense, and purpose as we go into yet another new year seemingly filled with disarray, confusion, insanity, grief, and hate.
And as we in Christendom ponder the miracle of the life and purpose of a baby born in a barn some two thousand years ago in the Bethlehem area of what is now the West Bank, we recall the promise of perfect peace and long for its hastening.

Getting Along

Well, it’s Saturday. It’s the eve of Christmas Eve. All of our girls have gone home for at least the weekend and we’re here with our son and his family from Northeastern Kansas. They’ll be here a day or two, then will go to see the other side of their family out in Western Kansas.
The weather is crisp, but clear. Amy Grant is playing on the DVD (her Tennessee Christmas album…her best) and we’re waiting on friends from the Kansas City area to stop by for awhile to see the campus and go to lunch.
We had “Bean and Bean” at my brother’s place last evening. That’s a tradition where they have some kind of beans as a main dish for a meal, then watch several of the “Mr. Bean” videos, including “Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean”. If you don’t know about Mr. Bean, I won’t clutter my blog with an explanation; just Google him or go to the Wikipedia site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Bean .
We’ll host the family on Monday. We’ll have ham, scalloped potatoes, and the trimmings. It’ll be another time of great fun and contentment. Our family is blessed to not have the squabbles, fights, and tensions that sometimes can invade. Some reasons for that?

Our parents and relatives were good examples.
We don’t use alcohol
We were taught as youngsters to get along (or else).
We don’t use alcohol.
We have similar values.
We love each other.
We respect each other’s opinions.
We don’t use alcohol.
We accept each other for who and what they are.

We’re having fun this time of year. What better thing to do than to spend time with a brand new granddaughter and family. I hope, trust, and pray that your holiday goes well.

The Gap

I don’t know if I do my best thinking this time of day or not (6:05am), but I certainly feel more creativity and willingness to sit down at the keyboard right now to have a say at something. I guess there may be something to that old adage, “Early to bed and early to rise, etc. etc.”
I’ve been asked to teach a Joshua survey to the 30’s class at church beginning in January. This might be quite an experience for them as well as for me. First, I don’t know many of the 30’s folks at the church. Second, I haven’t taught Joshua in a long while. And third, there is becoming an obvious gender gap between me and those a generation or so younger than I am.
Do you notice it too? Those of you who are, say, 40 or older…do you notice the gap widening? Language, dress, deportment (look that one up in your Funk & Wagnalls), and culture all seem to be part of this ever-widening gap between “us” and “them”. And that can be a little intimidating at times for both sides.
As one who remembers the “Big John and Sparky” radio show on Saturday mornings on the old Zenith (which I still have) and the advent of television into our neighborhood…one who has seen parts of seven decades and remembers when the polio vaccine first came out, it’s work now to relate at all to those who don’t know life without the computer, vacuum tubes, or the TV remote.
This should be an interesting time for all of us.

Twinges and Tingles

It’s Monday morning. A week before Christmas Day. The weekend went well, but all the time, I had a kind of an uneasy feeling. I’m not sure what it was, and even now have a feeling that something just isn’t quite the way it should be. But there’s nothing concrete I can pin down and there’s nothing even floating “out there” that I can see. So I guess I’ll have to chalk this one up to parental intuition that needs to be sent to the shop for a re-calibration.
Those of you who are parents know what I’m talking about. Your parental antennae begin to twinge just a bit, and if it continues, there’s kind of a tingle that’s just always there, keeping you on the alert. As you continue down the parenting path, you learn to hone the skills of listening to and interpreting the signs and signals. When they say that Mom has eyes in the back of her head, they are more right than not.
The work we do is similar to that of parents in everyday life. The problem here is that we invite girls into our home that are already confused and on the wrong path, and we have very little time to adjust our antennae to their signals. They need help now, and we don’t have the luxury of taking our time to get to know them or having them in our home for several years while we learn all about them.
We also have more than one or two. We’re expecting a sixth right after Christmas Day this year and have room for yet a seventh. So I guess I can understand how occasionally the trouble receptors need to be cleaned and fine-tuned.
And you stay tuned as well. There may yet come something that vindicates the tingling going on even as I write this at 6am and all the girls are yet in bed (with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads). I wonder if any of them has a clue what a sugar plum is.

Home for Christmas

I was walking the compound last night as I usually do, checking doors and making sure things were OK when my mind wandered to a part of the old song “Home for Christmas”…the part that says, “I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.” I didn’t get very far with that when I stopped in my tracks and thought about why I might be singing that part and what thoughts were coming into my head because I was singing it.
My thoughts didn’t go back to my childhood. Yes, we had Christmas when I was small, and we had the tree, lights, gifts, and all of that. Rather, my thoughts went to times when we had our own kids at home; when the gifts were transformers, baseball gloves, and toy products for boys out of the 1980’s.
Then I thought about where “home” actually was this year. If I would be “home” for Christmas this year, where is that? Is it here in Wichita? Is it where we lived with our young family for 16 years as they grew up? Topeka? Western Kansas? Central Kansas?
My mind would have none of those places. Home, it turns out, was the place that Jesus told about when He said, “I go and prepare a place for you.” Home was someplace I’ve never been before, but have a taste of what it is like right here and now. They say home is where the heart is. I wonder if that can be true more than anyone can know.

Unprofitable Servants

Last night we went to Wednesday services. On the way into the building, I had two people stop me in the hall and thank me for my remarks the previous Sunday. I was asked to have a meditation or remarks ready to present at the communion service, which we do every Sunday in our church. I was surprised that they stopped me and told me of their appreciation. However, I was also surprised that several last Sunday stopped following services and told me the same thing.
I am no stranger to public speaking. It is something I actually enjoy. It was, however, my first attempt at it at this church, and that could be partly the reason why some visited with me. However, one of the elders (church leaders) stopped me Wednesday for the second time and explained why he was so grateful.
My meditation centered on Mary and her willingness to be God’s servant. She said (and I paraphrase here) “I am the Lord’s servant. Be it unto me according to your will.” I talked about how I was reluctant to do this meditation because I had grown complacent and lazy and was willing to let others do all the work in the church for me. I then said that I thought the better of that attitude, and that if Mary could do what she did, and if Jesus could do what He did in offering Himself as a propitiation (look it up, folks) in my place, surely I could do this little thing.
The elder said that there are many people in the church who have the same attitude as I. They are content to allow someone else to do all of the work. They take but don’t give. He said my remarks really hit home and he appreciated my effort and candor.
How selfish we have become, thinking that we somehow deserve special attention because we do this or that, or because we deal with this or that, or whatever. How selfish we are thinking that others can just wait on us…that we’ve put in our time and deserve to rest and relax while the rest of the world waits on us. How selfish of us to believe somehow that we’re special and that we deserve some kind of special treatment. We are, after all (and I paraphrase again) “just unprofitable servants doing what is required of us.”

Candles

It’s nice to get feedback on what’s written here. I appreciate it when you click on my email address to tell me what you thought of the words I put together.
I’m continuing a little from the last entry where I said that God calls each of us into service in some way. We may not have a high profile job or a name that is known the world over. We may not be endowed with the gifts of wealth or even health. But we all were put here for, perhaps, “such a time as this.”
One reason that I appreciate your comments is that it brings perspective into my service to the Master. You see, when you comment, I am reminded of the service you perform and of your lot in life. I realize yet again that I am not alone.
It’s good for me to remind myself that others, just as I, struggle to pay bills, deal with kids, learn a new job, cope with sometimes frail health, refresh a relationship, tackle employee/employer issues, and a host of other stressors that appear in the lives of every one of us from time to time.
In a real way, we’re all in this together, being lights and salt and leaven in a place that desperately needs what God has to offer by means of our poor, weak efforts. It’s nice to be able to look over to the next hill (whether that hill be Oakley, Kansas City, South Carolina, Nigeria, Michigan, Topeka, or wherever) and see another candle burning there in the darkness, lighting up a small portion of the place we call “this life”.
Don’t let your candle go out.

Morning Routine

It’s been a few days, I know. It’s a little after 6am on a Monday morning and I’ve just completed most of the routine things we do on a school day. Medications are in the cups waiting for the girls, I’ve cleaned up the few dishes left from last night, and the coffee is on. I’ve brought a new box of cereal up from the basement pantry and have juice, cereal, and granola bars out for breakfast. One of the girls (I don’t know which one…I haven’t looked yet) just came out to eat.
I haven’t been outside yet to pick up the Eagle. But I have my coffee in place on the desk right beside the monitor. Pat is stirring, and will be out soon to interact with the girls a little more than I normally would this time of day.
God calls each of us to service. He expects us to use the talents and abilities that are within us to His glory. He will be glorified for the sake of His Name. I don’t know what God has in mind for Pat and me. All I know is that somehow we ended up here, in Wichita, at this place. We are not high-profile ministers in a large church down south. We are not well known business people or politicians. We certainly aren’t entertainers whose names are household words.
But I believe we are serving and are glorifying the Name of God by being here in this place, dispensing medications, opening cereal boxes, and interacting with teenage girls. As a paraphrase of Esther 4:14 might read, “Who knows but that you’ve been placed on this earth and in this place for such a time as this.”

I'm Ready

My wife has gone to be with her family for a few days while they deal with her Dad’s recent illness. She’s been gone overnight and for several days, now. When she’s gone, there are some things that are good and some things that are not so good about the situation.
I don’t sleep as well when she’s not here at night. I don’t know. For some reason, it just isn’t the same. I never thought that it would come to this, but after 32 plus years, one just gets used to having someone else in the bed with them.
The house is quieter. My wife is not a loud person. More often than not, she’s in her chair doing some kind of needle work or reading. But for some reason, there’s a quietness about the house that isn’t here when someone else is here, even though that person isn’t making any noticeable sounds.
On the more positive side, I do some things sometimes that I wouldn’t do when she’s here. I usually eat only two meals a day. That seems to be more normal for me. And I tend to eat things I wouldn’t eat if she was here. I eat more fish, more cereal, and will sometimes fix things that I know she doesn’t like (salmon cakes).
I don’t have to tell anyone where I’m going. I can just get into the pickup and go. And I don’t have to be back at a certain time knowing that someone will worry if I’m not back on time. I can take off on a side trip or do something else without checking in.
I can also do things like eat lunch at the counter of the café down the street, like I did today. The Riverside Café in Wichita is an old place that has a juke box, juke box controllers in the booths, a counter, and a menu that is written on a white board along with the daily lunch specials. I thoroughly enjoyed sauntering up to the counter this morning, ordering chicken strips with hash browns and green beans.
Does the positive outweigh the negative? Hardly. I’m ready for her to come back home.

Tough Decisions

It’s been a slow weekend for me, but for my wife, it’s been anything but that. Her dad had a mild stroke toward the end of last week, and she’s been going up into central Kansas where they live to help out with that. She went there again this morning and intends to spend a couple of days there this time.
He will be getting out of the hospital in a day or so, if everything goes well, and will need at least some temporary home care. He’s an independent sort of a man, wounded veteran of Iwo Jima, and won’t want anyone around to help. And he has his right mind and will be making the final decisions regardless of what his girls want for him.
The boys are here as well, and may be able to visit with him about having someone in to stay, but even that conversation, I suspect, will be a rather delicate time for them. Hopefully they can reach a compromise that all are happy with and will still provide the services that he will need these next several days and weeks.
It’s always tough when our loved ones grow older and begin to need care. My father in law is in his upper 80’s and has lived on his own for about 10 years since his wife died. He’s done well. His home is well-kept and he cares for himself, does his laundry, fixes his meals, etc. So this will be a change for him. We’ll see how this goes.

Humility

I don’t know what you think of Amy Grant. Some of you like her music and her songs. Others of you don’t care for that kind of music. And some of you may be upset yet (it’s time to get over it, folks) at her cross over into popular music or her divorce from Gary Chapman and remarriage to Vince Gill. (Just remember, you have sinned, too. Your sins are every bit as bad and will keep you out of a covenant relationship with God just as much as you believe Ms. Grant’s sins will do to her. And God is willing to forgive you just as much as you are willing to forgive others their trespasses.)
Regardless of what you may think, Ms. Grant has not only survived, but has flourished in the past 25 years in the music industry. Many who know her attribute her longevity and success to her modesty and humility, attributes that seem to be missing from many who share the success that she has enjoyed.
When she was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, she said this about one of her backup singers, “Johnna McElroy really took my five loaves and two fish of a voice and helped me to as much as I could with it.”
That one statement tells volumes about the person Ms. Grant truly is. She’s the genuine article. She’s the real thing. Like her or not, she has her feet firmly on the ground, it seems, and understands that she’s just someone who was incredibly, incredibly blessed n life.

Not Normal

Today it turned cold. Not just cool, but downright cold. The temperatures went from 70 degrees yesterday to about freezing today. And we have something we don’t often experience in November…thunder. A storm is coming through as I write this, and it’s dropping hail/sleet pellets with wind, thunder, and lightning.
Sometimes we have an experience in life that isn’t a normal or routine thing. It could be a thunder-sleet in November, or it could be the sudden realization that someone else doesn’t think just like you do. It could be your having to cope with a death, injury, or other physical problem. Or it could be the nightmare of mental illness suffered either by you or by a loved one.
Whatever life hands you, know that you are loved and cared for in a very, very special way by the Eternal One who brought all of this together and gave you life. No, He’ll not take away all the pain and hurt, because that would be contrary to His justice. However, he will give you peace and strength to cope with, deal with, and handle the situation at hand, no matter what it is.
And that, dear friend, is worth pondering today.

Ready

“Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow.” Those of you who know the lyrics of old Christian hymns will recognize that line as one from the hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”, written by Thomas O. Chisholm in 1923.
I’ve been struggling with that line today. We sang the song this morning in worship, and I went through the lines several times later today. The last time was when I was taking my nightly walk around the compound circle drive. I happened to stick on the words I’ve printed above.
Strength for today. It’s the mature Christian who understands that God gives to each the strength to get through the day, no matter the circumstance. It’s the quiet assurance we have that nothing we face is so bad and so overpowering that we cannot make it through the day.
Bright hope for tomorrow. This has, I think, a double meaning. There’s the tomorrow that is the day after this day; then there’s the tomorrow that Christians sometimes think of as the time after death. For the Christian, both of those times should also carry with them the quiet assurance that God will be there and will continue to be faithful.
Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow. I’m now looking forward to another day.

One More Night

Sometimes it seems like nothing you do ever really accomplishes anything. You go to your job, for example, day after day, and things just always end up the same. Progress in anything is very elusive and it seems like you’re just spinning your wheels. You become somewhat disillusioned and wonder what the value is of even trying any more.
Then something off the wall happens. Someone says something, or something happens that shows real progress toward the goal. Then it all seems worthwhile again.
Such was the case yesterday. We’ve been here about four months now, and it seems many days like the day to day rituals are just that. We get up, get the girls off to school, pick them up, feed them, etc. Nothing seems to change much from day to day.
Yesterday, however, one of the parents who was keeping one of the girls overnight called and wanted to know if the daughter could stay over one more night than planned. They explained that the daughter was behaving very well and had been very pleasant and appropriate and they wanted to keep her another night.
That doesn’t sound like much unless you knew this girl when she first came here to the home. If you knew that, you’d appreciate the quantum leap this girl has made in the few months she’s been here
It was a real sense of accomplishment to know that we had a small part in the changes for the better that have come into this young woman’s life. Oh, there will be times coming up when it will again seem like nothing is being accomplished and there’s no purpose to what we all do here. But as we continue down the road and witness even more of these kinds of incidents, they will continue to give us renewed strength to go on.

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, they’ve come and they’ve gone. My sister and her family were here for the day today. And, oh what a day it was. We enjoyed each other’s company and caught up on the latest happenings. And we ate, of course.
We have a sort-of tradition that whenever we can, we serve a crown roast. We did that today and it was delicious. We also had ham, spuds, veggies, rolls, salads, etc. enough that we weren’t very hungry when evening came.
We enjoyed playing cards, watching a video or two, and just visiting. Many caught some zzzz’s either on the floor or one of the couches, and then we went for a walk outside after dark.
Nothing was spectacular today, but it doesn’t have to be. The small things, appropriately recognized, are just as important and exciting as the big stuff. And the small things ruled the day today, even down to asking someone not related to us and at least temporarily not having a home, to eat and be with us.
Thanksgiving is a holiday the retailers overlook…perhaps on purpose…perhaps because of the looming Christmas holiday. I don’t know, but I do know that I enjoy the day, the lack of commercialism, and the peace the day brings.
Happy Thanksgiving.

What a Day

“Twas the day before Thanksgiving, and all through the house,”…no, that’s the wrong poem and the wrong time of year. Actually, in our house today, most of the girls (all but one) will be leaving for the weekend. The one who is left will be going tomorrow on day passes each day Thursday through Sunday. She will come back in the evenings to spend the night here.
We are looking forward to having Sis and her tribe here tomorrow, and enjoying their company as we serve crown roast, cranberry salad, and the other things we have developed as tradition over the years. Conversation and catching up are always nice, too. Even though we live in the same community now, we don’t see each other often enough to keep up as we should.
Everyone, it seems, has their “busy-ness”. Jobs, families, volunteer work all consume enormous amounts of time and energy. We run the treadmill of life much faster than we did even 10 to 15 years ago. Cellular technology has kept us connected, informed, and running. Future technology will cause even greater upheaval in our lives as we struggle to keep up and to adapt.
One of these days, it will all be over. Whether our economy and society collapses, or whether we die before that time, we will one day no longer have to worry about annoying ring tones, persistent spam, or unwanted websites.
As the old hymn says, “What a day, glorious day that will be!”

It's That Time of Year

I haven’t written in a few days. Really, there hasn’t been much to write about. It’s sometimes tough to sit down after several days of mundane and routine and write, but the exercise is worthwhile, if for no other reason than the mental exercise that’s involved in looking over the past few days and thinking of something that can be worded concisely, yet is interesting to the readers.
Such is the dilemma today as I think over the past few days, which have been dominated by a rather nasty cold virus in our home. I picked it up a few days ago and have not felt well since. One advantage of getting older is that colds usually are fewer in number and less severe, probably due to immune systems that have once in the past seen the same virus and have developed effective antibodies to that virus. However, this cold must be some kind of new virus or mutation, because the full-blown cold is upon me.
I thought yesterday as I was wheezing that I can surely see why more frail folks have difficulty even surviving a respiratory illness. It takes a certain amount of stamina and body reserve to fight and win the battle with a rhinovirus, and some people just don’t have it anymore. Many of those folks are older people, but some are the very young. And those groups are just the ones we are concerned with during cold and flu season.
That is also a good reason for a reasonably healthy person to maintain a certain level of fitness. One doesn’t have to be a marathon runner to better be able to fight off viruses and illnesses. It does help, though, if there’s a certain lung capacity and reserve of energy.
Colds last about 7 days if treated and about a week if left untreated. I think I’ll choose the seven day variety and take some Tylenol now.

The Good Times

I don’t know about you, but this weekend was just pretty good for us.  Jim and Judy were here from Western Kansas Friday evening for a short visit.  We had a great time at church this morning, and the small group meeting at our place this evening was productive as well as fun fellowship.  The weather cooperated, and the girls did well this long weekend (they didn’t have school Friday).
When things go well, we often don’t stop and thank God for that.  Maybe some of us don’t think God had much to do with it and it was just coincidence or what we expected.  I’ve come to think, however, that God maybe has more to do with things like this than we know, and although I know that trials must come along with the good, when that good comes, I know where it comes from.
This week, even if the good happens for just an hour or two, thank God for it and for that time when things went well and you were at your peak.  Then when the inevitable trials come your way, thank Him too for those; for it’s only because one wades through trials in life that one can truly appreciate the good times when they come.

So, Why?

Today was a wonderful day. It was the last full day off of a week off that we get every fourth week. We’ve had a good week. We’ve seen the relatives and our sons. We made a trip to Western Kansas to visit friends. We’ve been able to see our darling granddaughter today on a day trip to their home. The Republicans are at least saying that they are listening to the electorate.
So why do I feel like I want to sit in a dark room and just let time pass? Why do I not feel like smiling, crying, laughing, or groaning? Why do I not feel much of anything at all?
I don’t in truth know. I don’t think it has to do with the week off being over. I am (or at least was) looking forward to getting the girls back tomorrow. It doesn’t have to do with relationships with the wife or someone else. Those are as good now as they’ve ever been.
I have to wonder if the idea of advancing age has anything to do with it and this is a delayed reaction to a recent birthday. I’ve thought a lot about that recently. I’ve certainly got a lot more years behind me than I do ahead of me.
This is kind of a funky time for me right now until I get this thing sorted out. Anyone of you (two or three faithful readers) ever get this way? What do you think it is?

Time Off

We have some time off from work, so this past weekend, we went to Western Kansas. We went out to the little community where we used to live (until a couple of years ago) and spent the night with some friends. We then went to church where I gave the sermon and talked some of our work here at the children’s home.
Coming back to Wichita is a long drive from there. It’s over four hours by interstate highway, and that’s if one doesn’t stop more than once or twice briefly to empty a bladder or fill a tank.
The hills west of Salina were in rare form yesterday as we headed East while the sun was behind us, lowering in the West. As we went down into the Elkhorn Creek valley, the hills on the other side were subdued, yet obvious hues of crimson, tan, gold, maroon, and olive. The low sunlight created shadows where shadows don’t normally fall, and the whole scene seemed to jump out of a surreal landscape painting.
It only lasted for a brief moment, though, as we descended into the valley and the sun continued to set. Then it was gone…forever relegated to the neural synapses of just a few people who happened to notice the beauty.
I’m grateful I was one of those people. I thank God that He allowed me to see such a sight, even if for only a moment. It was a fitting ending to a great weekend with friends and extended family. Thanks, Larene and Kathy, for keeping us. Thanks also to Gary for the popcorn and conversation.
And thank you all for your hospitality and your love. We’ve made friends the last several years that will be with us for a lifetime. We covet your continued friendship and prayers, and long for the best for you and yours.

The New Generation

Our family has a “deep question” forum on the Internet. I don’t know the address, and it is available only via password in any event. I just click on the short cut and I’m there. We’ve done this awhile by email, but recently began posting questions for one-another’s perusal and replies on a forum-type web site.
Many of our questions are religious in nature. Some are not. We all try to post replies to the questions, and take turns asking questions. One question, for example, was that if Jesus knew 100% that he would raise from the dead and join the Father, was his death really a sacrifice. Others ponder homosexuality, specific scripture references, philosophical questions, etc.
I was heartened recently by information posted by one of my nieces. She posted a portion of another discussion board that was written by other teens in one of her advanced placement classes. The class hasn’t begun yet, but the kids are preparing for it by reading and discussion.
I was amazed at the depth of discussion, the literacy and writing ability of these young people, and their perceptions of the world around them, both material and spiritual. In fact, it sort of blew me away to know that there were young people out there who truly were interested in things beyond who was hooking up with whom, what some guy was wearing, or whether or not some rapper was going to get busted for drugs.
There is a whole new generation out there, folks, that is already knocking down old norms, establishing new norms, and making the world its place. Time goes on, and we all go with it, whether we want to do so or not. We can go into the future kicking and screaming, or we can go into it with wonder and excitement, experiencing the marvelous things God has provided in His creation. I prefer the latter.

Fall Colors

The fall colors are especially nice this year in Southern Kansas.  I haven’t seen trees and grass with colors such as what I find now for many years.  The hues of red, yellow-gold, brown, and green simply defy description.
They say (there I go with those pesky “they” people) that in order to achieve such a panoply of color and hue, the creation has to go through a stressful summer with a general lack of rainfall.  It helps if the fall weather comes in with warmer days and cooler nights than normal.  We also have had that this fall.
It also is beneficial if the right trees…the ones that normally produce more color…are a part of the landscape.  People in the Wichita area have been good, for the most part, in planting a variety of trees and other shrubs and bushes.  The variety is almost astounding.
This, I guess, is just like everything else worthwhile in life.  Good things don’t come easily.  Where the brilliant falls seem to require planning and appropriate planting on the part of people, summer drought, and cooler than normal temperatures, so the good things that are truly important in life seem also to require planning, foresight, and sweat.
Of all of those important things, I think our relationship with our Creator tops the list.  This, too, is something that requires work.  It requires diligence.  It requires patience.  It requires dedication.  It doesn’t just somehow happen with no effort on our part.
Most of all, though, it happens because God has already done His part.  He has already shown us the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Door.

Today

Today is Friday. It’s 6:20am. It’s cold and rainy outside, but from the radar, this may be the last rain we get in this particular storm. I understand this storm dumped snow in the Rockies and has brought down some cold, chilly air from the North to a large part of the country. It’s time. We need the change.
The girls are rousting out and are getting breakfast. That usually consists of cereal, either hot or cold, juice, and sometimes bagels and/or toast. They seem to like that about as well as anything. On Saturdays, we sometimes fix waffles or some such.
Several girls are in a state of decision-making right now. One has just enlisted in the Air Force on a delayed-entry plan and will go in a few days following her graduation in May. One has a grandmother who is terminal and must hold it together (decent behavior) through this process. Still another is deciding if she will continue to act out and thereby be removed from this place to go to a more secure environment. Yet another is trying to decide whether she has intrinsic value or not to both herself and others.
You get the picture. It’s always something here at the home. We have about a week to go before we get a week off, but we’re not counting the days any more. We’re doing fine, as I thought we would all along. Although there were times….
Thanks so much for your prayers and your concern. Our Creator is indeed overshadowing this place and yours.

I Have Enough

As I was taking the girls to school this morning, they were talking about watching one of the many reality shows that is now on television. They were saying that they really enjoyed the show because it showed the real world.
Now, I’m no connoisseur of these shows, and I thought to myself, “What, don’t you guys think you’re living in the real world right now?”
Reality television is far from the reality that most of us know. If someone were to do a reality series based on the lives of ordinary people, it would tank rather quickly, because that reality is one that is mostly mundane, routine, and ordinary. There’s not the drama and crisis that is shown on the so-called reality shows.
Yes, what those shows portray is, in many cases, reality for someone. There truly are car accidents, tense moments in the emergency room, stress-filled meetings, etc. I know…I’ve been there and done that. But in the ordinary course of events for most of us, reality consists of school, exercise, getting along with others, homework, earning money, raising kids, going to church, and keeping the house clean.
I may ask my girls if they think they are living in the real world, or if the real world is somehow beyond what they are experiencing right now. I might be surprised at their answers. We all think we are living the dull life and that everyone else has a much better existence than we do. That is, we think that until we jump the fence into the greener pastures of someone else’s life and discover that they too have weeds, rocks, and other things that make our routine existence seem rather inviting once again.
I don’t know about you, but I see enough reality every day. I see the effects of rape and neglect. I deal with mental and emotional issues that would try anyone’s soul. I know that there are girls “out there” that are hurting far beyond what anyone should have to bear, and that we just don’t have the resources to care for them. I don’t need to live someone else’s reality in order to fulfill my life. I have enough on my plate.

Connections

It’s been a few days since I last wrote.  I dunno.  It just seems like the days fly around here.  Then at night when things quiet down, I’m too tired to do much thinking, let alone writing.  So, that’s the way it is.
We’re thinking about going to Western Kansas on our next weekend off.  We used to live out there, and think that maybe seeing the folks at church on a Sunday next month might be a good thing.  Of course, we’d stop in Central Kansas on the way out there, in order to see the in-laws.  We’d then take our time going on out to God’s country.
In many ways, it is indeed God’s country.  Sparse, expansive, and exquisite, the Western Kansas prairie is truly one of the wonders of the world.  If you haven’t taken the time to become acquainted with the short-grass prairie and the people who live with it, you’ve truly missed something special.
Impossible to tame, the prairies of Western Kansas only allow humanity to scratch out an existence and a living in accordance with the laws of the prairie, not the laws of mankind.  When man understands that it is the prairie that is in control, he does rather well, living in a sort of symbiotic relationship with it.  When man forgets and thinks he’s the cheese, the prairie bites back, and does so in a way that makes for an indelible lesson in humility.
That kind of living also makes the people who are there a bit different than those who live in a more citified and artificial existence.  Folks there are more down to earth…pragmatic…normal, if you will.  Yes, they still have the normal human frailties…greedy…gossips…indulgent.  But they also have a way of thinking, living, and relating to others that is refreshing and soulful.
We cherish our Western Kansas connections, and hope we’ll be able to make the trip soon.

The Full Measure

Our minister pointed us to a verse, in closing his sermon yesterday, that I had never really seen before.  It’s found in Revelation (yeah, that book that no one can understand), chapter 21 and verse 7.  The New American Standard Bible renders it thus, “He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.”
Note especially the first part.  “He who overcomes shall inherit these things.”
Now, we could get into a discussion of what “these things” are, but I think if one looks at prior verses, he can get a good idea of what these things are.  My point is that it doesn’t say that all who overcome will share in an inheritance.  I think it is saying that each one who overcomes will inherit a full measure of “these things” and not have to share or divide an inheritance with anyone.
How can that be?  I don’t know the answer to that any more than I can know how God can be omnipresent or three persons in one.  Put this one in the “unknowable” bin and mark it as “wondrous” along with so many other grand things we find in God.
My kids aren’t going to get much of an inheritance from me.  And what they do get, they’ll have to share.  But it won’t be that way, I think, with God and me.  I’ll get the full measure of the inheritance, just as you’ll also get the full measure of the inheritance.  Think about that today.

Who Would Have Thought?

I was in the local Subway sandwich shoppe this evening buying sandwiches for the girls for movie night. On Fridays, we often rent a movie and have movie night at our house. I had orders for five sandwiches, and was telling the young man what to put on what sandwich, when someone standing in line behind me said, “Jay,” and I turned. There were several people in line and I wasn’t sure which one said it until she said it again.
It was someone from my hometown not far from here. She recognized my voice, she said, as I ordered sandwiches. I didn’t recognize her until she said who she was.
Turns out she was a teen playing softball years ago and recognized me because she caught and I umpired…calling balls and strikes right behind her.
Life sends everyone into some twists and turns from time to time. Who would have thought that such a meeting would ever take place in a sandwich shop? Moreover, who would have thought that she’s living not far from us? I have to wonder just how many people I know are living within 5 miles of me? 10 miles of me? 20 miles?
I’d like to see a map of this area with the pins stuck in it wherever someone lives that I know or have known over the years. I think I’d be surprised, and I’d like to think that I’d remember them all with memories that are pleasant.
But that map will never happen, and I probably won’t ever know who is near me that I know. And maybe that’s for the better.

Do I Really Want to Know?

For a very few months a couple years ago, I taught at a vocational school in Lawrence.  I taught Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel to older youth and young adults who were in the school’s program.
The classes I had were a very diverse population.  A couple of the classes had two women who were Muslim and who wore the full-length brown dress with a full head covering and a kind of crosshatch cloth covering their faces.
At first, they were somewhat difficult to get to know, as I am used to facial expression and observation of body language.  Both of these kinds of communication were virtually impossible with these women.
I soon learned, however, that voice inflection played a big part in how they communicated with the outside world.  I also listened closely to the actual words they said and the way they structured their sentences, although it was clear that English was a second language for them.
I learned to communicate with these women and pick up nuances from their speech and actions that told me things they had never actually said in words.  It was good for me to have these women in my classes, and I grew to like them and see them as more than anomalies or abnormalities that had to be dealt with somehow in the name of diversity and political correctness.
I wonder about Sadiqah and Abeer now.  I have not a clue where they are, what they are doing, or what their situation in life is like.  I think I would like to know, but then again….

Organization of the Heart

I went into the maintenance shop on campus today.  We no longer have a maintenance man, and those of us on campus are sharing responsibilities for that job.  I have been in the shop before to look for something specific, but this time, I just looked around to be certain that I had an idea of what we have there in case I need something.
I was pleasantly surprised at the good condition of the tools and the arrangement of the spare parts for electrical, plumbing, etc.  Someone has taken good care of that area.  So often, those areas are messy and unorganized.  Not so with this shop.
I had to think that the condition of that maintenance shop is in many ways similar to the conditions of our hearts…not our physical blood pumps, but the place of our being within us.  Sometimes, there’s nothing there but a big disorganized mess.  But when we allow God to come in, He cleans up and cleans out.  He organizes.  He directs.  He cleans.  And He keeps it that way as long as we allow Him to do so.
I hope we’re able to keep the maintenance shop some semblance of clean and organized.  It’s so much easier to work in one when all of the tools and spare parts are easily located, and the work area is clean and inviting.  I also hope I’m able to keep my heart clean and organized, as always, relying on my God to do all the real work in that area.

No More War

Today is the first day of a week off for Pat and me. The girls are with the relief houseparent, and we have the place to ourselves. We aren’t loafing, though, because we have a re-dedication of Harrold Cottage this coming Sunday and we’re sprucing up the place in preparation for the ceremony and open house that follows.
It is an awesome thing to be recognized in this capacity. I personally feel a bit bashful and very humbled. We certainly are not up to the task on our own, and recognize and realize that there is a Greater Hand in this than we know.
It will be fun to see some folks from Topeka who will make the trip down, and it will be good to see some of Pat’s relations as well. Our son and his family will be here, as will others from the Wichita area.
I think sometimes that is one reason why we are able to continue with this work. There are, as the Hebrew writer says in chapter 11, a “great cloud of witnesses” urging us on and giving us an example, that we should follow in it. That great cloud consists not only of those who are alive and well on the earth today, but folks from times long past and gone who have struggled, wrestled, fought, and won the battle. They cheer us (all of us) onward and upward as we continue the war in battles present and yet to come.
One day, however, the war will be over. There’ll be no more battles. There’ll be no more war. As the song says,

It is finished! The battle is over,
It is finished! There’ll be no more war.
It is finished! The end of the conflict,
It is finished, and Jesus is Lord!

"It Is Finished"
Written by William Gaither and Gloria Gaither

Family

It is good to be a part of a family.  Whether that family is biological or otherwise, one of the needs of every human is the need to belong.  Families that function properly make sure that all who are a part of that family are assured of their acceptance.
I am fortunate to be part of several families.  My biological family is, I think, a truly unusual family if for no other reason than we made a commitment long ago to get along and to look after one-another.  We’ve done that well over the years, especially since our mother and father passed on.  We’ve gotten together almost every year for the last 20 or more years, and have a good number of children, cousins, nieces, nephews, and in-laws who join us in these gatherings.
Pat and I are also part of a church family.  We tried out one church when we moved to Wichita, liked it, and have stayed.  We never looked beyond this one.  It’s unique, and fills a real need in the lives of its family members.
One Sunday morning, the minister made an announcement regarding the health condition of one of his biological family.  He asked the congregation for prayers and became emotional as he talked.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone approach the stage area.  The man went up on stage while the minister was talking, put his arm around the minister, and said something to the effect of, “We’re gonna pray right now.”  He took over the microphone and led the entire congregation in prayer for the minister’s relative.
The man who did this was an Elder of the church and is himself battling cancer.  But he put aside his own aches, pains, and troubles to reach out to someone who has made it his life’s work to reach out to others.  I’m not sure there was a dry eye in the place when the Elder finished that prayer.
That’s what family is all about.

True Intelligence

I have always thought I was a reasonably intelligent individual.  Graduated ninth in my class in high school, with honors, 3.86 overall college GPA, 4.00 in the core courses.  I’ve held jobs that often required thought and work.  I consider myself to be at least moderately well-read and knowledgeable.
However, there are several things that I just look at and shake my head, because I have no clue how or why and probably never will.  One of those things is child abuse.
My wife and I are now in an occupation (houseparents) where the reality of child abuse (I don’t care if it’s physical, mental, emotional, or sexual…which includes all of the others) is before us every day.  Children are starved, chained, neglected, used for sex, given drugs, traded, passed around, and drained of all semblance of humanity or dignity.  This may not mean much to you, but when you see the effects every day and work with the effects every day and deal with the effects every day, it suddenly means a whole lot more.
The verse I am now thinking of suddenly means a whole lot more, too.  Mark records in Mark 10:13-16, “And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them.  But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”  And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.”
Now, I don’t know about you, but I believe that children have a special place in the heart of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.  And if you knew the way children were many times treated in those days, you would also know that Jesus made a powerful and compelling statement about His love for children and His desire that children be treated with dignity and respect.
I think I would rather stand before Jesus one day and answer to Him for just about anything OTHER than my mistreatment of a child.  I have a feeling there will not be much in the way of mercy or compassion for those who abuse the little ones among us.  I shudder at the thought that I may have, at some time, been guilty of some kind of improper action toward a child and thank God Almighty that the blood of Jesus Christ even covers these sins.