Jesus Loves You

Saying for the day: There is no surprise more magical than the surprise of being loved. It is God's finger on man's shoulder. ~Charles Morgan

I saw a plaque like this in a catalogue the other day. It bothered me.
I was bothered because I can think of times when I could have hung that in my house.
I know God loves all kinds of people.
I know that because the Bible tells me.
But some of those people don't do the good things I do.
Some of those people don't worship much.
Some of those people are a real pain.
Yes God loves them but doesn't he have to love good old me more.
I mean I do what he wants.
I sing His praises.
I worship the right way.
Doesn't God have to love me more?

NO!

If Jesus taught us anything it's that God loves the prodigal son just like he loves the stay at home brother.
It is hard for me to understand that I'm not competing for that love. I have it. God bestows his love on me. I couldn't earn it if I tried.
So , I guess I won't buy the plaque.
#### News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal . It is a quiet Sunday morning in Pigeon Falls. It always quiet on Sunday morning in Pigeon Falls, not as quite as it was last Sunday when only Tommy UK was in town, but quiet.
Over in the little neighborhood right on the edge of town Oscar Erickson and his family are getting ready for Church. They belong to Last Lutheran. Both he and his wife are Sunday School teachers and Oscar is Chairman of the Evangelism Board. He hasn’t missed a Sunday of worship for as long as anyone can remember .
Next door live the Herman Hansons. Mrs. Hanson is making breakfast and getting the kids ready for Church. They belong to Last Lutheran. Herman is sleeping. He will get up in an hour or so and have a cup of the coffee his wife left for him. Herman is a book member of Last Lutheran but he hasn’t been to Church for as long as anyone can remember.
Two Men Oscar and Herman one goes to Church and one doesn’t. When they were little their parents took them to church . The Hansons sat in the pew behind the Ericksons. The two boys used to pass notes. They had the same Sunday School teachers and went to the same confirmation class. Both of them went to Bible Camp. Oscar had a deeply moving religious experience. Herman got a bad case of sunburn.
Their history is so much alike and yet one loves the Church and one doesn’t. If you ask him Herman will tell you that he doesn’t hate the Church and he believes in God but he needs Sunday to get some rest.
Pastor Joan says that God loves them both.
But can that be true?
*****

Today's link-Dr. Platypus- Something to think about
The one real fact in yesterday's list was ,according to the magazine " Scientific American", number six. I know that's hard to believe but that's what science says.
A great day today. My oxygen was a little down but not really bad so I took my little oxygen tank and went to church. I only used half a tank. Church was great. There there were three choir numbers, a baptism, a good sermon, Holy Communion, and great fellowship. The only problem is I filled my memory chip in the camera. I just have to get a bigger one. So I couldn't get the last choir number. After lunch I took the morning pictures and updated the St. Mark's website. That took a good amount of time. I had four videos to add.Then I took a nap. Betty and Pennie played computer games and with the WII . When I got up they went shopping while I did a little blogging and then closed up this blog. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

More Good Internet Facts

Saying for the day:We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter. ~Denis Diderot

Today I perform my weekly public service. I give you fifteen internet facts . These are things that you can astonish your friends with. Of the fifteen “facts” one is a “real fact”. Past real facts have included the Mona Lisa has no eyebrows , Jimmy Carter was the first US. President to be born in a hospital., the original name of Bank of America was Bank of Italy, and Gatorade was developed in Florida.. But the facts I make up could be true. I am a really good maker upper. In any case you can tell your friends “ It must be true because I read it on the internet. Today’s list:

1. Lamination, the process of gluing thin strips of expensive wood to a cheap base, was created by Edgar H. Lamon in 1921.

2. The first company to issue a credit card was Montgomery Ward. It was good only at Ward stores.

3. The DNA of a chimpanzee is closer to the DNA of a giraffe than to that of a human being.

4. Global Warming , the warming of the ocean, has been going on for the last two hundred years.

5. Captain Marvel and the magic word shazam were created by the Marvel Comics Company.

6. The simplest and most popular cosmological model predicts that you have a twin in a galaxy about 10 to 10 to the 28 meters from here.

7. Bigfoot sightings out number flying saucer sightings two to one.

8. The Marvel Comic Hulk was based on the wrestler Hulk Hogan.

9. The most popular movie Disney ever made was “ Cinderella”.

10. There are no gay penguins.

11. The heaviest person who weight was recorded weighed 872 pounds.

12. Credit cards with your fingerprint on them will soon be introduced by Visa.
Instead of signing the store will scan your finger.

13. It is impossible to get a worm drunk.

14. In comic strips the person on the right always speaks first.

15. There are 20,000 species of honey making bees.

There you have the list. One of the fifteen is as real as anything gets in this world. The other fourteen I made up this morning. But that makes no difference. You can treat them all as true because you read them on the internet.
The internet wouldn’t lie.

Pennie's Master's Graduation

#### News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal Today the entire Tommy Club is going to scour the area where the building that exploded was looking for clues. Tommy UK has convinced them that it is time the town finds out what is behind all of these strange happenings.
Already this morning they have found a clue. In a tree near where the building was they found reverse letters as though a piece of machinery had been driven in and then fallen out. Homeland Security would have the metal piece. But the Tommy Club can figure out what the letters are.
M.E.L.I.
Could that be the name of the company that made the machinery? Could it be the name of the mean mastermind behind this horrible plot. What do those letter mean?
Tommy is busy trying every possible idea since at the moment it is the only clue they have.

*******

Today's Link:-XUP- Products that might scare you .
what a difference. The oxygen bounced up eight points this morning . Just one point below normal. I have no idea why. Thank you for your prayers. It was a great morning. I set up a blog for E.S.T.H.E.R which is a justice organization that St. Mark's belongs to. Then I added that information to St. Mark's website. At that point I was going to take a little oxygen but Betty had disassembled the equipment to sterilize all the parts. She thought there might be some kind of bug left hanging in there. So I had lunch and then visited most of my links. After that I watched a very funny Zombie movie. Then it was back to the computer and closing up this blog. Betty and Pennie have taken Maggie to the dog park. I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

High Gas Prices

Saying for the Day: Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and are right. ~H.L. Mencken, 1956

Congress is at it again. They are holding hearings to see why gas prices have gone up. They , according to one congressman, are” going to shake the truth out of the oil company executives”.
If they had just called me I would have saved them a lot of time.
Here are the facts:
Fact number one; The world is using 86.5 million barrels of oil a day.
Fact number two; The world is producing 85.5 million barrels a day.
Simple economics tells us when demand exceeds supply the price goes up.
Given those facts Congress needs to devise a program that will:
1. Decrease demand
2. Increase production
Now there is all kinds of experimentation going on in both areas but it is uncoordinated. We need a government program like the Manhattan Project to give this top priority.
It won’t happen. We will keep looking for somebody to blame.
That’s the way Congress works.

My Beard

#### News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal .Eino, being pressured by Tommy UK, called his friend at Homeland Security only to find out that to this point they don’t have a clue as to who was to blame or how they did it. But the investigation continues.
Petrovich was met at the airport in New York as he returned from Russia. Federal agents wanted to quiz him about the driblets. That lasted all of a half hour. Petrovich has almost as much security clearance as the President. After a few phone calls he was released with apologies from the agents. Besides he was in Russia the whole time.
Old Doc Simpson is concerned about Bonnie Maki’s babies and the effect all of this may have had on them. So he is running some tests. Thus far everything appears normal.
Pastor Joan is unhappy that she missed a Sunday preaching. She had prepared a special sermon just for last Sunday. Now she probably won’t use it bcause the coming Sunday has different assigned texts.
*****

Today's Link-The Boomer Chronicles- A Big Foot Sighting
Another very bad day. The oxygen was nine points below normal. I spent all morning on the breathing mask connected to the concentrator. Came out at lunch with a small portable oxygen bottle. Worked on the computer until the bottle was empty. I put Sunday's bulletin up for St. Mark's and visited some blogs.Then back to the main concentrator. I refilled the small oxygen bottle so I could close up the blog. If I don' t see a rise in the oxygen level by Monday I will call Dr.Wilson, my lung doctor, and make an appointment. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Just a Little Bit More

Saying for the Day: Assumptions are the termites of relationships. ~Henry Winkler

Thursday has arrived again. Right after Wednesday which is the way things are supposed to happen. So , ready or not, it is time for another elf tale.
Once upon a time , not very long ago and not very far away, there lived two neighbors. They had lived side by side for a very long time. In fact nobody in the area could remember a time when these two families had not lived in those houses side by side. They both owned their houses free and clear and both made a good living running little businesses in the mall. In fact their businesses in the mall where just three stores apart.
One would think that given such conditions both families would be living very happy lives .
One would be wrong.
Fred, the man who lived with his family in the house on the left was not happy. He had not been happy for a long time. It was all Roger’s fault. Roger lives in the house on the right.
It seems that Roger’s house is just a little bigger than Fred’s. Roger’s car is just a little bigger than Fred’s. Roger’s lawn is just a little bit bigger than Fred’s. Roger has four kids and Fred has three. Are you begging to see the problem. Fred’s oldest son had an almost perfect record and was Salutatorian of his class. But that year Roger’s son had a perfect A average and was Valedictorian.
Fred resented Roger. The resentment was eating him up. Just once he wanted to be the one that was a little bit better. But it never happened. The ride a mower that Fred bought was a little smaller than Roger’s. The pop up camper was the same. He could not win.
Not that Roger called attention to these things. He didn’t even seem to notice. He was always friendly to Fred. Always had a “Hi Neighbor “ for him when he saw him in the yard. He even invited Fred and family to dinner but Fred turned him down. He knew that everything in Roger’s house would be just a little better than what was in his house. So the invitation just ticked him off.
Aside from that both men were a good part of the community. Both gave to local charities, of course Roger gave a little more than Fred. Both volunteered time to help local organizations with Roger giving a little more time.
And so it went day after day and week after week.
Until one week when Fred was coming home from donating new gloves to the local Little League Team and finding out that Roger was donating the uniforms . A little man in a green suit with funny shoes stopped him. The little man explained that he was an elf and because of Fred’s good deeds he was being granted one wish..
He didn’t even hesitate but wished that from this time on he would always have a little more of whatever Roger had.
The Elf said “ So you have wished so shall it be”
To be continued next Thursday.

My First Intern-Matthew Basich- Now a Pastor in the Minneapolis Area

His Family

#### News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal .Poor Tommy UK is stuck with mysteries he may never solve.
He knows what the hum was. It was a sound so high pitched that human ears couldn’t hear it. But animals could and dogs did.
He traced the sound with a high frequency sound meter and found it came from a building behind Kivi & Maki’s store. So he knows where the machine was.
He knew that whoever set up the machine didn’t want it found hence the bomb.
Since the people came back after the bomb destroyed the building he knows that the machine in the building was responsible for the people desapearing.
What Tommy UK doesn’t know:
1. Who set up the machine.
2. Why they set up the machine.
3. Why he wasn’t affected by the machine.
The first question is a hard one to answer unless Homeland Security finds some clue in the wreckage. But whoever did it had to have access to cutting edge science and equipment. They had to have money.
The second question is even harder. Why set up such an elaborate machine in a town like Pigeon Falls? Was it a test before moving on to some city? Did somebody have it in for Pigeon Falls? All he has is more questions and no answers.
The third problem bothers him more than the other two. Why wasn’t he affected? Why didn’t he fade away?
Problems! Problems ! Problems!
******

Today's Link- Haphazard Life -What makes for home?
This was a day I could easily have done without. My oxygen was off ten points from low normal. I spent most of the day in the bedroom connected to the oxygen concentrator. I watched television. I didn't get to visit any blogs. I just saw the computer long enough to get my blog up and now to close it. I hope tommorow is better. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Bad Endings

Saying for the Day: I wish there were a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence. There's a knob called "brightness," but that doesn't work. ~Author Unknown
The television season has ended and a lot of shows had their final episode for the year. I only watch a few shows so I can’t speak for all of them but the endings I saw were disturbing.
On “House” they killed off Wilson’s wife. I liked her. She could put House in his place and she took no nonsense. What a terrible way to end the season.
On “CSI Miami” Horatio lies on the tarmac and could be dead. He’s the lead character but they end the year by shooting him.
On “ Criminal Minds” the show ends with one of the regular crew being blown up. That means real change in the fall.
On “NCIS” they killed the Director and broke up the team. Who knows what we get in the fall!
My favorite shows each with endings for the season that I’m not happy with. I liked all the characters they killed off . I liked things the way they were.
My only hope is that
Law and Order CI” which will end late in the summer will end by killing Logan. I don’t care if they push him off a cliff, blow him up, shoot him, poison him or have him sock the Mayor. I just want him gone. I loved the show without him. Sometimes losing a character can be a good thing.

Old Christmas Cards

#### News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal .There was lots of activity in Pigeon Falls yesterday. The Homeland Security people called in a team of doctors and had everybody examined. None of them seemed to have any adverse effects from the happening.
Then they interviewed Tommy UK who told them of the high level sound that human ears couldn’t hear but the animals could and how he had used a high frequency sound meter to locate the source of the sound. He told them of starting to open the door of the shed, leaving out the part about picking the lock, and hearing the ticking starting. He told how he had run and shortly there was an explosion. Then one by one people started appearing.
None of those who had vanished had any memory of the time in which they were gone. It was as if they had never left except they did remember fading out.
Homeland Security gathered up all the parts of the storage building and took them back to Washington for evaluation. They hope to find some clue as to what caused all of this.
They also want to talk to Petrovich who is in Russia visiting a Monastery. They are now checking out his website for other clues..
But life in Pigeon Falls is back to normal.
******

Today's link-Zen Wizard- An answer to the gas problem. a staycation.

Had a really rough night last night. We were out of my breathing medication so no treatment. In the morning I visited all the blogs on my link list. Betty took Maggie for a walk. I took a three hour nap in the afternoon. Then I practiced telling tomorrow's elf story getting it ready to write down. Betty got the Dr. To write a one month perscription to carry me until the medicine comes in the mail. It cost $100 for one month. But tonight I will have a breathing treatment.
GBYA

From the Archives Begins

Saying for the day: I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, "Mother, what was war?" ~Eve Merriam

I have so enjoyed going through the old pictures and clearing away the dust that I don’t want to stop. So I have decided to continue to post pictures until the end of the month but now under the heading of from the archives.
I start to day because it’s the day after memorial day with Betty’s father’s world war two pictures. He fought in Europe and was even a prisoner of war for a short time. I hope you enjoy the pictures.































































































#### News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal . Locked doors have never been a problem for Tommy UK he has been able to pick locks since he was six years old. So he pulled out his little wires and went to work on the lock on the building. It took a bit longer than he expected because it was a very good lock. When the lock opened he heard the ticking start. He wasn’t sure what it was but he ran as fast as he could to put the Kivi & Maki store building between him and the shed just in case.
Two minutes later came the explosion. The little building was blown to bits. The humming stopped.
In a little while people began to appear. First the soldiers, then the State Police, and then the people of town.
Life was back to normal.

*****

Today's Link- Mattressspolice.com- Some funny observations.
My oxygen dropped today to four points below normal. It was a hard breathing day and I lugged my oxygen around with me. In the morning I put the June newsletter up on the St. Mark's website. Then I looked at changing the front page of the website. Betty went to Bible Study. In the afternoon I took a nap. Then I sorted pictures to use for the rest of the month. I visited two rows of my links will get the rest tomorrow. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Another Meme

Saying for the Day: Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die. ~Malachy McCourt

I’ve been tagged. My regular readers know how much I love being tagged. I assure you I have stopped throwing things and screaming. I , of course, will not tag anyone but I will do the meme. The person who tagged me is not a bad person. In fact he will soon be ordained an ELCA pastor. So I can’t get too upset with him. Besides he recently fell down some stairs and his back hurts. I wouldn’t add to his problems.

So here I go:

Ten years ago:
I should have gone to the doctor then I wouldn’t be in the condition I am in now.

Five things on today’s “to do” list:

Eat breakfast
Blog
Eat Lunch
Blog
Eat Super ( How boring can it get?)


Things I’d do if I was a billionaire:

Pay off all my debt
Help my family and friends out
Contribute money to St. Mark’s, United Lutheran, St. Vincent De Paul and a few other charities
Set up a fund at Luther Seminary to help Pastors get a Doctor of Ministry Degree
Get the best portable Oxygen compressor
Buy a winter home in Florida

Three bad habits:

Never comb my hair
I tend to have a hard time saying no
disorganized

Five places I’ve lived:

Chicago, Illinois
Ishpeming, Michigan
Trout Creek, Michigan
Crystal Falls, Michigan
Great Lakes Ore Boat

Five jobs I’ve had:

Calendar Folder(1st job ever)
Santa Claus Montgomery Ward
Deckhand
College Teacher (Math)
Counselor Bay Cliff Health Camp

As you know I don’t tag so if you want to do the meme feel free.


The Alphabet Photo Challenge is being sponsored by Quilly at Quilly's Pacific Paradise.

Z-Zero By Coca Cola ( My dragons favorite drink)

Z-Zebra with Betty and Susan

#### News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal . Tommy UK moved slowly up the main street of Pigeon Falls holding the meter in front of him. He received the meter this morning from a man on the milk train, but the man who gave it to him did not stay having no desire to fade away. This high frequency sound meter could hear sounds the human ear can’t hear but animals can. Tommy UK figured that’s what caused the dogs to run away. Apparently it doesn’t bother dragons though since they flew in and out in their usual pattern. The sound meter did show that there was a continuous high frequency tone, a hum if you will. The meter his uncle had sent him allowed him to pinpoint where the sound was strongest and thus help him find what was creating it. On his third pass he was confident that it was coming from a little building behind Kivi&Maki’s store.
As he approached the building he thought he could feel the signal even if he couldn’t hear it. The tips of his fingers seemed to be fading. He thought” Am I going to fade away?”.

*****

Today's Link-Foolery-A Memorial Day Tribute
Good day. My oxygen was up a point which was good. Peter and family came. He grilled and they brought the food. It was great. After lunch the woman played canasta, Peter watched the ball game, and Luke and I played a computer game. Pennie and Lori won the canasta game. Lori showed us the article she had published in the Green Bay paper.The two dogs had a great time together and Maggie was so sad when they left. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA