ANOTHER BIRTHDAY REMEMBRANCE

Today would have been my mom's 93rd birthday. [Did I get my math right this time, Carolyn?] Here are a couple of my favorite memories. My brother Mark & I often tried to get her to laugh at the table, when she was drinking her iced tea. If we were successful, she would spit her ice out. Perhaps my greatest memory, however, was watching her play the organ & direct the choir at St. Paul's in Concordia. I was always very proud of her musical prowess. After her stroke, which rendered her unable to continue playing the organ & directing the choir, I think this was her greatest loss. I miss her.

A FUNERAL

We attended the funeral of Steve Stortz today at Christ Lutheran in Norfolk. He died on 12/19, from COVID-related complications. He served on the staff at Christ Lutheran School in Norfolk from 1986-2019, so Lois served alongside him for many years. He was her principal from 2008 to 2019, when he took at call to Iowa. [The year she retired.] His wife Charlene was our science teacher at Lutheran High Northeast during our first year of operation, 1997-98.

Funerals at LCMS churches rarely disappoint, & today was no exception. Steve's servanthood as a Commissioned Minister in the LCMS was commemorated, but the focus was on Jesus. We are comforted with the sure knowledge that He conquered death. There is a heaven, & there will be a joyful resurrection. The sermon especially focused on death & resurrection:  Christ's righteousness, not Steve's.

Funerals remind me of my own mortality. They also cause me to hearken back to the funerals of our niece Ashley, my father, & my mother, Lois' father & mother, & our grandparents. In the midst of grief, we have a sure hope of eternal life with Jesus.

We sang "Earth & All Stars," a hymn I want sung at my own funeral. These stanzas were a fitting proclamation of God's "marvelous things."

(St. 1) Earth & all stars! Loud rushing planet! Sing to the Lord a new song! Oh, victory! Loud shouting army! Sing to the Lord a new song! He has done marvelous things.I too will praise Him with a new song!

(St. 5) Classrooms & labs! Loud boiling test tubes! Sing to the Lord a new song! Athlete & band! Loud cheering people! Sing to the Lord a new song! He has done marvelous things. I too will praise Him with a new song!

Knowledge & truth! Loud sounding wisdom! Sing to the Lord a new song! Daughter & son! Loud praying members! Sing to the Lord a new song! He has done marvelous things. I too will praise Him with a new song!

Children of God, dying & rising, Sing to the Lord a new song! Heaven & earth, hosts everlasting, Sing to the Lord a new song! He has done marvelous things. I too will praise Him with a new song!

CHRISTMAS CORRESPONDENCE UPDATE

For those of you who have been anxiously awaiting my annual, epic, Christmas letter, hopefully you will not have to wait much longer. Although I finished our 2021 chronicle weeks ago, I have procrastinated, as usual, putting together everything & mailing it. Hopefully today or tomorrow.

HEADACHES

I did garner some sympathy when I posted about my cluster headaches. My neurologist did phone in a prescription for prednisone, but it's not ready yet. Hopefully I'll receive some relief soon.

WHAT I'M READING

I recently finished reading a biography of Martin Luther:  "Martin Luther - Renegade & Prophet," by Lyndal Roper. Very, very fascinating. I learned a lot that I didn't know. Now I'm reading "The War That Ended Peace - The Road to 1914," by Margaret MacMillan. It's a little cumbersome, but if you like history, like I do, it's probably worth your time.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

Our favorite CBS shows are on hiatus, so we've been watching "Deep Space 9" & "Chicago Med" on Netflix. We find that "Chicago Med" matches our experience in the emergency room. All the doctors & nurses look like celebrities. We also watched "The Chosen Christmas Movie" on PureFlix. I strongly recommended it for the songs by Christian musicians & the portrayal of Mary & Joseph's experience & Jesus' birth in Bethlehem.

THE ADVENT OF CHRIST

"For Christians, the Christmas season is a unique time of joy associated with the birth of the savior Jesus Christ, whose life, death and resurrection makes possible a personal and intimate relationship with God. Jesus was born a Jew, and his teachings were built on the foundation of the Torah and the Old Testament. Thus, Christians and Jews have much in common and share a natural mutual affinity. But what came from Christ also benefited and deeply affected people of diverse beliefs in every part of the world. 

"The fact is that Christ affected history with such impact that He split time in two, dividing all human activities and events into happening before His coming (called B.C.) or after His coming (called A.D.). No one else in all of human history did this. Christ had to have had a supernatural impact on the world for that to be accepted.

"History shows that Christianity and its Church have brought about more changes for the advancement and benefit of people than any other force or movement in history by an immeasurable factor. What is particularly surprising are the myriad achievements made by committed Christians, which non-believing secular-minded people also applaud . . . 

"Suffice it to say that life both at home and around the world would no doubt be qualitatively worse today if Christ had never been born and Christianity had not become the greatest spiritual force ever to inspire creative beauty and advance the care and development of people. Indeed, there is reason to sing “Joy to the World.” Scott Powell, Townhall