SUN devotional on MON

Sorry . . . This devotional will be a little abstract random.

This devotion will deal with the topic of death . . . but please bear with me, if it's not too much trouble. On SAT 6/24, we were greatly privileged to spend time w/some of my brother-in-law Jerry's * family& my own family as we joined in a memorial celebration of his mother Evelyn's life & death in Christ.
* He's married to Lois' baby-sister Anita.

I think I've shared this before. Well, I'm sharing it again. [Remember? It's MY blog.] Death has been on my mind a lot since the first of the year. My Aunt Dolores died. My Uncle Harold died. Very good friends of ours had their baby still-born very recently. And Jerry's mother Evelyn died earlier this year. 

Yesterday's church service @ Grace Norfolk contained a lot of "prompts" that brought comfort & help to those grieving death. Here they are. I apologize IF I get a little preachy. *
* Those of you who follow my blog know that this is what's called a qualified apology. "I apologize IF . . . "

Epistle Reading from Rom. 6:20-23

When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are not ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. MY COMMENT:  Part of the curse of sin is being enslaved by it & not even knowing it. There is only one penalty for sin, & that penalty is death. Regardless of how we remember our loved ones, their death was the result of sin. But wait! That's not the end of the story! Christ Jesus--our Savior who conquered sin, death, & Satan--makes His free gift of eternal life available to all, including our loved ones, including you & me. We are saved by grace through faith.

Hymn:  "On Eagles' Wings" *

(St. 1) "You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord,
Who abide in His shadow for life,
Say to the Lord, 'My refuge, My rock in whom I trust.'
(Refrain) And He will raise you up on eagles' wings, 
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun, And hold you in the palm of His hand."

(St. 4) "For to His angels He's given a command
To guard you in all of your ways;
Upon their hands they will bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
(Refrain) And He will raise you up on eagles' wings, 
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun, And hold you in the palm of His hand."
* LSB #727

One of my favorite hymns, because (1) the imagery it invokes suggests angels bearing us to heaven on their majestic wings; & (2) LHNE--The Eagles!

The Apostles' Creed *

"I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting." **

* Third Article
** Jesus' death & resurrection make possible our own forgiveness, resurrection, & eternal life.

Hymn: "Have No Fear, Little Flock" *

(St. 2) "Have good cheer, little flock; Have good cheer, little flock,
For the Father will keep you In His love forever; Have good cheer, little flock."
* LSB #735

Another favorite hymn. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, willingly gives up His life for the sheep. That would be you & me. We may have good cheer, knowing that our Heavenly Father will keep us in His love forever--that's eternal life!

And finally . . . 

The Gospel Reading from Matt. 10:29-31

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from you Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." MY COMMENT:  Do you mean to tell me, St. Matthew, that those sparrows whose nest I consistently knock out out of rafters of my patio every year because they are such a nuisance, those sparrows do not fall w/o my heavenly Father's permission? Uh, yeah . . . I'm pretty sure that's what St. Matthew is writing by divine inspiration of the H.S. If that's how much value the Father devotes to--in my estimation--two worthless sparrows--I can have confidence in knowing that I & my loved ones have inestimably more value than they.

A Pity Party

Did you miss my blog?

Anniversary Trek Codicil 

On our last day in Northeast MN [THU 6/8], Lois & I bid farewell to our very nice accommodations at the Eagle Ridge Resort just outside Lutsen, MN (nickname "We are a really nice resort, even if we don't provide daily, complimentary shampoo, conditioner, soap, & newspapers.").

• Temperance River Trail:  This trail followed both sides of the River, passing 8 pools & 7 overlooks w/rocky ledges. The trail guide advised, "It's easy hiking, but use caution." We did. I don't remember falling. *
• Sugarloaf Interpretive Trail. This trail traveled "through woods & along rock ledges to Sugarloaf Beach." A trail guide was available at the head of the trail, which automatically boosted this trail to the top of my list. Or would have, if I wouldn't have fallen at the base of some very steep stairs toward the end of the trail. More on that later.
• Duluth harbor front:  Many things to see & do, including walking along the breakwater. And the numerous sites were free. And there were historical sites to visit, also free. Would have been more fun if my left shoulder wouldn't have been throbbing. More on that later.

We returned to Grandson Calvin's in Eagan, arriving before supper on THU 6/8. His parents, Nathan & Laura, were there, too. After Calvin went to bed, they took us out to eat at a very nice restaurant. We shared a delicious dessert, which was the only downside. Because we had to share it. Get it?! We arrived back in Norfolk without incident on SUN 6/11.

PP * + 15

Yes, I really did a number on my left shoulder when I fell on it while hiking on THU 6/8. I lost my balance at the bottom of some steep stairs & landed on the back of my shoulder, striking some rocks after about a 3-4' fall. Could have been worse. A face plant probably would have resulted in a lot of blood, broken nose, skull fracture . . . Sees what I mean about a pity party?

I didn't bother going to the doctor until we were back in Norfolk on MON 6/12. In the meantime, I used a lot of ice. I was able to drive a little but had trouble steering; also couldn't put any weight on my left arm, surprisingly also my left arm. Couldn't lift anything, couldn't reach, pull, push, had trouble getting in & out of bed, getting up & down from chairs.

My p.a. sent me to x-rays, which led to his suspicion that I had cracked or broken some ribs. Later on that MON he called back to let me know that the radiologist hadn't found any fractures but had found a lesion on the left scapula. He wrote me a prescription for hydrocodone, told me that I could take ibuprofen to alternate w/the h.c., scheduled me for a bone scan, & shared his suspicion that I had suffered soft tissue damage.

After my bone scan was read by the radiologist, the determination was no soft tissue damage but some type of damage had been done to the shoulder and/or upper vertebrae and/or neck. Next step? Physical therapy.

I've had two sessions of PT w/at least 2-4 sessions scheduled in the near future. My physical therapist suspects that my injury wasn't so much to my neck as to my vertebrae with the pain radiating to the shoulder. Her therapy, combined w/the PT I can do on my own, seems to substantiate her theory. I'm regaining more range of motion in the left shoulder, also my neck. The pain has also subsided, although at times my shoulder & back & neck still throb. I'm only taking hydrocodone at night & saving ibuprofen for during the day. 

Okay, that's my pity party for today. 
*Pity Party

I really don't have time to blog!

The State of My Mental Health, My Marriage, My Relationship w/My Dog, My Candidate, & Possibly Your Candidate

If you saw the list of things I need to do today, you'd know why I shouldn't be taking the time to blog. I attribute part of this to my OCD, which has gotten significantly worse over the last month or so, so we'll start w/that.

Mental Health MON on THU:  I've had a real regression:

• More anxiety
• More OCD
• More depression
• My mental health team & I are attributing this to medication, possibly due to an interaction of medications, possibly due to medications related to my cluster headaches, which have been plaguing me off & on for the last month or more, though they seem to occurring less frequently over the last week or so.
• I think I've mentioned before that I have a fear that the meds I take when I think I have a cluster headache coming on [& I'm pretty sure that I've been ODing on these meds] are causing brain damage, but nobody can tell the difference.]

Marriage Update:  Today [6/1/17] is the 1st day of our 43rd year of wedded bliss. 

Tomorrow we leave for our annual anniversary trek, probably not as dramatic as our trek to Yellowstone & the Grand Tetons 2 summers ago, but possibly more dramatic than last year's trip. I will not mention the location, because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. [HINT: It included a visit to the site of Buddy Holly's fatal air crash in an Iowa cornfield.]

Man's Best Friend Update:  I took Sammy for a walk this morning--the longest walk in 

quite some time. I can't tell you how long, because I gave up on my fitbit quite some time ago [another sign that I've been in a slump for many weeks]. It seemed even longer because although he didn't leave any doggie DNA, I lost count after he marked his territory 20 times. I also came to the conclusion that dogs are more religious than cats. He likes me, but he worships Lois. He gazes at her in adoration. If you die alone, a dog will eventually die next to you. A cat will eventually eat you.

Fishing update:  I enjoyed taking my grand-daughter Brianna fishing at Skyview Lake

last Sunday. The two of us caught a plethora of little sunfish, & I only lost my balance & fell into the lake once.

G.O.M.E.R. * :  Just got my new NE license plate in the mail. The colors are Michigan 

State's, not those of the Big Red. I can't bring myself to even mention them. The Nebraska Sower is imprinted on the background, but you can't even see it on the plate when you spot one on the road. In fact, you have to be 2 feet away from it on the ground before you can see it. * Grumpy Old Men & Their Elucidating Rants

Bucket List Update:  This our trip to Northeast MN includes a trek along the

North Shore of Lake Superior, so it counts as one of our Bucket List adventures. Next summer I think we're going to attempt Teddy Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, Glacier National Park in Montana, & a side trip into Canada, since our passports didn't get here in time for a trek into Canada this next week. For our 45th wedding anniversary we're looking at an Alaskan cruise.

Political musings:  Still don't have the stomach for meandering into this topic.

Blah, blah, blah. You can go ahead & shame me for my choice--which wasn't much of one--for all his missteps since the selection. Shame on you for backing perhaps the most corrupt candidate since Warren G or B. Obama. Take your pick.