SOME THOUGHTS FOR THE NEW YEAR

I continue to be very disillusioned with the path that our country seems to be taking. Where is God? So many seem to have abandoned Him & followed after evil teachings about abortion & gender. Yesterday morning during my quiet time, I read Psalm 94 & highlighted these verses.

Blessed is the man whom You discipline, O Lord, & whom You teach out of Your law, to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. For the Lord will not forsake His people; He will not abandon His heritage; for justice will return to the righteous, & all the upright in heart will follow it . . . Can wicked rulers be allied with You, those who frame injustice by statute? They band together against the life of the righteous & condemn the innocent to death. But the Lord has become my stronghold, & my God the rock of my refuge. (94:12-15, 20-22)

My conclusions? God's people are not to lose hope, despite "wicked rulers" who are not "allied with (Him)." They may act against the Lord & against His people, but God remains in control. We are to put our trust in Him & not in earthly leaders & political parties. We are not to hate our enemies. Rather, we are to pray for them, & we are called to give our authorities the honor & respect that God requires, while still striving to speak the truth in love.

RESOLUTIONS 2023

I'm still working on my resolutions for 2023. In the meantime, this morning's Omaha World Herald had an article entitled "Rock Your Resolution." It included these tips for success.

1. Confront your temptations.

2. Tell your friends.

3. Remember the reward.

4. Accept challenges.

5. Be prepared for a setback.

6. Commit yourself.

ROAD TRIPS REDUX

Those of you who follow me know how much Lois & I enjoy our road trips. Here's a list of the trip we made in 2022, keeping in mind that in order to qualify, a road trip must include 2 or more nights on the road.

JAN:  Minnesota [We visited my son Nathan & his family in Eagan.]

FEB:  Florida [We visited Lois' sister Kathy in St. Petersburg], & took a side trip to Key West & Dry Tortugas NP [which included Lois' sister Anita].

MAR:  Kearney, NE, where I represented OGT at the Nebraska District Pastors Conference.

APRIL:  Lois & I celebrated our wedding anniversary early by spending a couple of nights at the historic Bassett Lodge in Bassett, NE.

MAY:  Lois' 50th high school class reunion at St. Paul's Lutheran High School in Concordia, MO.

JUNE:  A long weekend at Nathan's in Eagan, MN; a little over a week in Kingsburg, CA, to visit her sister Wanda, our brother-in-law John, & our niece Teresa & her family. Our grand-daughter Brianna accompanied us. She, Wanda, & Lois volunteered at a Joni & Friends Retreat in Mission Spring. I got to attend  a couple of John's band concerts. And we had a family reunion with our children & grand-children in Arnold's Park next to Lake Okoboji, IA.

SEPT:  While Lois was in St. Petersburg for the Hill Family Sister Bash, I represented OGT at the Nebraska District South LWML Convention in Kearney, then spent a few nights at our favorite KOA, adjacent to the Badlands of SD.

NOV:  We took a 10 day cruise to Hawaii, which included stops in Oahu, Maui, the Big Island [including a visit to Volcanoes NP], & Kauai; also a stop in Ensenada, Mexico on the way back to San Francisco.

DEC:  Lois joined her sister Kathy in Washington, DC, for Wreaths Across American, & we spent the week after Christmas in Lincoln, NE, at our daughter's Sarah & her family.

A PREVIEW

JAN:  We'll spend a week in Eagan, MN again, where we'll get to celebrate our grandkids' birthdays at Nathan Laura's.

FEB-MAR:  We'll make what's turned into our annual tradition of visiting Kathy in St. Petersburg. We'll also make a side trip to Key Biscayne NP, & we'll be joined by her sister Anita & brother David & Carmen.

JUNE:  Our first trip to Europe, where we'll retrace St. Paul's missionary journeys in Greece.

JULY:  Our annual family reunion, this year back in Omaha.

SEP:  My 50th St. Paul's College reunion in Concordia, MO.

SPEAKING OF NATIONAL PARKS

Last FEB we spent a few days in Key West. While we were there we took a boat to Dry Tortugas NP, in our never-ending quest to stay ahead of my son & his family when it comes to checking off NPs from our bucket list. Good thing we went there last FEB, because here's what I learned in an article found in today's Drudge Report.

"Nearly 500 migrants come ashore in Florida Keys, forcing major park to close. A massive wave of migrants arrived in the Florida Keys over the weekend, as some 500 people believed to be from Cuba & other part of the Caribbean came ashore in what local officials described as a major crisis.' The arrival forced authorities to close Dry Tortugas NP, where some 300 migrants arrived over New Year's & were met by first responders who did their best to provide aid, including food & water."

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL

We woke up to maybe 6" of snow on top of a layer of ice, & we're still in an ice warning. Thought you'd like to know.

TODAY'S TRENDING NEWS FROM BABYLON BEE

"Teacher frustrated as half her student detransitioned over Christmas break."

"Eve mistakenly eats from Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil instead of adjacent Tree of Good Driving."

"Open-minded programmer only works in non-binary code."

"Southern Baptist softball league implements 'once safe, always safe' rule for baserunners."

PARENTHOOD *

* Compliments of Uncle John's Awesome 35th Anniversary Bathroom Reader"

"It just occurred to me that the majority of my diet is made up of the foods my kids didn't finish." Carrie Underwood

"If you're not yelling at your kids, you're not spending enough time with them." Reese Witherspoon

"I've noticed that one thing about parents is that no matter what stage your child is in, the parents who have older children always tell you the next stage is worse." Dave Barry

"When your children are teenagers, it's important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you!" Nora Ephron