THOUGHTS FOR TODAY

Choose to Rejoice

"Your joy as a Christian should not depend on your circumstances. Joy comes from God, & therefore it cannot be affected by what is outside of you. Don't be fooled into letting the actions of others determine your joy. True joy comes from knowing that God Himself lives within you & has fellowship with you, regardless of your environment. Real joy lies in the knowledge that holy God has completely forgiven you of every sin, & even know, He has a home prepared in heaven where you can spend eternity with Him (John 14:3). The circumstances of your life cannot change these truths! . . . Do not allow difficult events to cancel the joy of knowing you are a child of God. Choose to allow God'sSpirit to fill you with His unquenchable joy, & your life will be a miracle to those who watch you face the trials that come." Henry T. Blakaby & Richard Blakaby, "Experiencing God Day-By-Day"

Be Careful!

"Be careful lest you entice little ones into sin! Be careful lest your life entice little ones into sin! . . . No one can help a child as can its father & mother. But neither can anyone lead it astray as can they." O. Hallesby, "God's Word for Today"

2023 RESOLUTIONS REVIEW

> Average 1 road trip per month. B. We traveled to FL in FEB & visited Biscayne NP. In May we spent a couple of nights in the Lied Lodge in Nebraska City & revisited Indian Cave SP. Also in May we visited our son & his family in Eagan, MN. And last month was our epic trip to Europe, following in the footsteps of St. PauL. So, I'm a little behind schedule, but we'll get caught up this month.

> Lose 5 lbs. A+. I actually lost a few lbs on our recent trip to Europe. Yes, I'm mystified. I've lost 18 lbs so far this year.

> Add to our NP list. A+. We visited Biscayne NP in FL last FEB--probably the last NP we'll visit this year.

> Avoid desserts. D-. Nobody's perfect.

> Do my PT exercises and/or walk at least 4X/week. B+. After a shaky start this year, due to my accident, I revved it up with PT in FEB & MAR, then put in a lot of walking to prep for our trip to Europe, then accumulated lots of steps will walking to various sites in Greece & Turkey.

> Publish my "Buzzwords" devotion book. C. After failing to make much progress earlier this year, I've stepped it up lately. I'm working on my re-edits.

> Write my "Chapter & Verse" devotion book. B. I've been working on this fairly steadily when I'm at Orphan Grain Train. I donate any royalties from my devotion books to OGT.

> G.P.A.:  B

BIG BANG BOOM

As I've posted many times before, Norfolk boasts the biggest & greatest fireworks display west of the Mississippi, north of the Platte River, east of the Rockies, & south of Canada. It was scheduled for SAT 7/1 but postponed until SUN, due to rainy weather. The Worley's came up from Lincoln to view the spectacle, so they were disappointed. Oh, well. They returned home on SUN but left Hadley with us, so we walked the 1/2 mile to Skyview Lake & watched the fireworks with Hadley & Brianna; Derek, Rachel, & Bentley. As usual, it was awesome, especially the grand finale. And I enjoyed shave ice--not as good as the shave ice at Matsumoto's on the North Shore of Oahu, but still acceptable--& a few scraps of the girls' funnel cakes. 

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

We've been watching previously seasons of S.W.A.T. on Paramount+. We've been mystified that we haven't been able to watch any season finales of our Paramount+ shows, but I think it's because of the screenwriters' strike. We've watched "Raiders of the Lost Ark" & "Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom" with Hadley, since she'd never seen them. I think we'll watch "Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade" with her before we leave for CA tomorrow. Speaking of road trips . . . 

ROAD TRIPS

We're headed to CA tomorrow, so Lois can join her sister Wanda in volunteering at another Joni & Friends Retreat in Mission Springs. [If you're not familiar with Joni & Friends, Google it.] I'll hang out with my brother-in-law John at their place in Kingsburg--a relatively normal city for CA--& I think we'll get to enjoy one of his band concerts. Watch for my travelogues!

WHAT I'M READING

I've been reading "Apache Wars" on my library app. Pretty bloody, but I like it.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

According to "Better Health," Summer 2023, here are foods that can lower your blood pressure.

* Fruits high in potassium, like bananas & oranges.

* Oily fish.

* Leafy green vegetables.

* Natural yogurt. I had Greek yogurt several times on our recent trip to Greece & Turkey.

According to the "Epoch Times," 5/10/23, here are surprising benefits of spinach.

* Protects vision health & prevents cataracts & macular degeneration.

* Preserves brain health & delays cognitive decline.

* Lowers blood pressure & prevents cardiovascular disease.

* Prevents cancer.

* Prevents obesity.

* Prevents osteoporosis.

* Prevents skin aging.

TODAY'S TRIVIA *

* Source:  Uncle John's Awesome 35th Anniversary Bathroom Reader

> Kea parrots have been known to "high-five" each other in midair.

> It costs about $1 to produce the wine in a $10 bottle of wine.

> The avg person has 13 secrets that they won't share with anyone.

AMERICA ENDURES

"Unlike the Soviet Union, America is not founded upon a lie. But there are many forces at work today advancing a narrow, propagandistic reading of American history that contributes to the conclusion that the United States is wholly illegitimate.

"The trappings of this revolutionary movement are by now familiar. Its enforcers retail narratives about how the Republic was founded solely to protect the institution of slavery. They traffic in tales of how America’s private and public institutions were built upon rotten foundations, and virtually every system of American governance erected upon them is thus suspect. These stories have become fashionable to the point that even the current president of the United States lent them credence. “We all have an obligation to do nothing less than change the culture in this country,” Joe Biden told a rapt audience in 2019. “This is English jurisprudential culture, a white man’s culture. It’s got to change.”

"The same contempt for the nation’s foundations shines through every one of today’s faddish progressive denunciations of America. “This country was founded on white supremacy,” says Beto O’Rourke. “To me, capitalism is irredeemable,” says Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “Our democracy’s founding ideals were false when they were written,” says the much-fêted 1619 Project.

"If destruction be our lot, not only will we be its authors, but these words will be its preamble. We are far better positioned than the Soviet Union to avoid that fate, because the truth is on the side of those who recognize the providential legitimacy of the American experiment in self-government. But the truth may still not be enough. Those who mistake cynicism for sophistication bombard Americans with revisionist histories designed to delegitimize the Founding. Defending against this unceasing onslaught is exhausting. If exhaustion prevails, national euthanasia may well follow.

"But while it is terrifyingly plausible, I don’t think this course of events is likely anytime soon. The story told by America’s defenders is just more compelling than the one its detractors are retailing, and it has the inestimable benefit of being historically accurate. This is a dynamic country, but its legal foundations are constant. That is what the critics, from the president on down, resent the most. The Founders in their wisdom baked into it an implacable resistance to the adoption of fashions in law. Its representatives are not wholly unresponsive to faddish diffidence; they’re only human. But the obstacles to substituting sentimental ephemera and sophistry for eternal moral precepts and legal principles are durable.

"This is, of course, not the first generation of ersatz revolutionaries so besotted with their own pretensions that they appear set on breaking down those obstacles. One day, they might even get their way. Until then, though, the Republic as it is presently constituted will endure, and we who love it will persist in its defense." Noah Rothman, National Review Online

ST. PAUL'S JOURNEYS, JUNE 27 RECAP

Before I forget, our cabin steward was Nasser Farouk. Pretty good. Maybe not quite as good as Armando the Magnificent, our cabin steward on our cruise to Hawaii last year but still, pretty good.

We docked at the the port of Athens. Our intrepid tour guide was Aliki. Like the rest of our guides, she was impeccable. Our bus took us first to the Corinth Canal, built in the late 1800s. [REMINDER! You have to find Lois' FB page to see pictures.] This canal cut through the Isthmus of Corinth, connecting the Aegean to the Adriatic Sea. We met some people from Omaha & Norfolk there. Small world. We walked across the bridge to get a better view of the canal. It's 3.8 mi. long & very narrow, so only one small boat can navigate it at a time. The canal is 300' feet deep at its deepest point & blasted out of solid rock. We were in the Pelopynese province, the southernmost province in Greece.

Our next stop was at the site of Ancient Corinth. We had a view of the acropolis, 1800' in height. [I was grateful that we didn't have to walk it.] The archaeological site was excavated by Americans. Everything is in ruins. A fountain house provided access to water. The museum contained, as usual, lots of headless statues. The most interesting room contained many clay body parts. People made these body parts to correspond to parts of their bodies that needed healing. We're talking feet, hands, ears, heads, private parts, & more. People would take these to the temple, pray to them, & worship them. It's possible that St. Paul witnessed this, which inspired him to write about the Body of Christ being one body with many members, all equal in the sight of God.

Ancient Corinth had been inhabited since 7,000 B.C. Archaeological sites in NE maybe date back to the 1200s A.D., so we were continued to be amazed at the age of the ruins we encountered. The Romans conquered Corinth in 146 B.C. & destroyed the city, except for the Temple of Apollo. You can still view the massive columns. This temple was built in 600 B.C. This is where people bought meat sacrificed to idols, also witnessed by Paul, which probably led to his admonitions in 1st Corinthians. Anyway, Julius Caesar rebuilt the city as a place for army veterans. This was the city that Paul knew--the place where he, Aquila & Priscilla made tents. Corinth was one of the 4 major cities of the Roman Empire & may have had a population of 500,000 at Paul's time. By 700 A.D. the entire site was in ruins, due to earthquakes & barbarian raids, until it was discovered by Americans.

We had our group devotion near the supposed site of Paul's hearing before Gallio. At the conclusion of our devotion, we sang "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name." A nearby group, which included some people from Nebraska, applauded when we were finished. Very moving!

We had lunch at the foot of the Corinth Canal, where it opened into the Aegean Sea. There's a bridge at the mouth of the canal which sinks into the water when a boat approaches. Never seen anything like it! We had lunch at the restaurant. No gyros, but I did have souvlaki. Then it was back to the ship for a return to Athens. On our way back to the port, our guide pointed out "hills" that were actually the fill material from the construction of the canal. We had a buffet supper at the hotel, & an amazing thing happened. A woman approached me, because she recognized my last name. She asked if I was familiar with Ocheyedan. I replied that my grandpa had a farm near Ocheyedan, & my dad was raised on the farm. She introduced me to her husband, who was related to my grandpa & dad. What are the chances?

Thus concludes my travelogues. I hope you've enjoyed them. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, & we are so glad we went. So many high points that it's impossible to identify our favorites. We've been invited by friends to accompany them on a tour of the Holy Land in 2024. People who toured the Holy Land a few years ago, including David, Carmen, & Anita, strongly encouraged us to go, so we've got a big decision to make. So long!

 

ST. PAUL'S JOURNEYS, JUNE 26 RECAP

After another delicious breakfast buffet on our cruise ship, we docked in Crete, the largest Greek island & 5th largest island in the Mediterranean. It's reputed to be the birthplace of Zeus, with the emphasis on "reputed." Our destination was the archeological site of the Palace of Knossos, which was inhabited by the Minoans as early as 6,000 B.C. Little is known of this culture, because only fragments of inscriptions have been found--not enough to construct an alphabet. Most of what we know comes from frescoes. 

It's the 2nd most visited archaeological site, after Ephesus. The ruins were discovered in 1870 & excavated from 1900-1936, but the excavators got carried away. Many of the ruins, including the frescoes, were renovated, not restored, so much of the original ruins are reproductions, not original. Much of what we know was deduced from the original frescoes, which required lots of speculation, since not enough inscriptions were found. It was a huge palace, involving at least 1200 rooms & 5 levels. The complexity of the corridors & so many rooms resulted in the designation of a labyrinth. Frescoes showed men vaulting over bulls--they didn't always survive--which led to the creation of the mythical minotaur. [I'm going to have to brush up on my Greek mythology.] We surmise that the Minoans worshiped Mother Earth [Gaia]. The city suffered many earthquakes & suffered its final destruction around 1300 B.C. The site eventually became entirely covered until discovered. The ruins also include a theater, including a royal box, & the oldest paved roads in Europe. Our guide also pointed out the water & sewage systems. One annoyance:  Another tour group was using the same frequency as our headsets, & there was nothing our guide could do about it. Whenever they got too close to us, there was a lot of audio interference.

We returned to the port city of Heraklion & made our way to the Church of St. Titus, which was originally built in 1200 A.D. Over time it's been destroyed, rebuilt, & repurposed many times. We couldn't go inside right away, because a Greek Orthodox service was underway. We tucked ourselves into a shady spot, where we could hear the chanting, & had our group devotion. [These devotions became a high point of each day.] After the service was over, people trickled out, & we trickled in. There was a small room which contained more relics, including the remains of St. Titus. Right.

We made our way back to the historic city center, which included the Merozini Fountain, built in 1629. Very few original buildings survived the Nazi bombing during WW II. Eventually the city was liberated by British, Aussie, & New Zealand troops. I deposited myself in a small cafe & enjoyed my first cup of Greek coffee. Very good, but there was a thick residue of sludge on the bottom of the tiny cup. I should have stirred it better. We passed a lot of gypsies & were warned to keep a close tab on our valuables. [I am NOT a gypsyphobe!]

CLOSURE IN THE CROSS OF CHRIST

"After this Jesus revealed Himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, & He revealed Himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, & two others of His disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them. 'I am going fishing.'" (John 21:1-3)

"'After this.' In the joyful aftermath of that first Easter, we are bold to ask why Peter, fisherman by training, returns to that vocational undertaking. Isn't there urgent apostolic mission work to be done? Old habits die hard. It's a new dawn, but we prefer what is known & comfortable. Yet, Jesus said, 'No one who puts his hand to the plow & looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.' (Luke 9:62)

"Things come full circle in the resurrection. From the mouth of that opened tomb comes closure:  The old is gone, the new has come. They go out, fish all night, catch nothing. But in the morning, there is the risen Jesus, standing on the shore, saying, 'Cast the net on the right side of the boat, & you will find some.' (John 21:6). It is an echo of the day when Jesus said to four Galilean fisherman, 'Follow Me.'

"John recognizes Jesus. Peter throws himself into the sea. The other disciples haul in a load of fish. Someone counts them, & John records the number. None of this is myth or legend. It is a closure that satisfies; it derives only from the factual reality of the crucified Christ, raised from the dead. Coming ashore, the feast with the living, reigning Jesus as host--another satisfying, joyful echo of the days when Jesus fed thousands in the wilderness.

"He's the Lord of creation. Death is conquered, & the new creation has dawned. Then comes the best news:  You don't have to wait for the kingdom of God to come; it has come to you. Now, the mission is urgent indeed while we look to the coming resurrection of all flesh. We pray for the fervent use of every Means of Grace that is given to us as His saints, so we never miss such resurrection glory." Rev. Kevin Robson, Lutherans Engage, Summer 2023

A PRAYER FOR INDEPENDENCE DAY

"O God, our help in ages past, our Hope for years to come, I give You grateful thanks on this anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence for the priceless blessings of liberty that with Your help were won for me by my ancestors. Stir up within me, I pray, a new appreciation of the life, liberty, & the pursuit of happiness I enjoy in this land of the free, & a greater readiness to serve my nation with my talent. Teach me, above all, to treasure that precious freedom of conscience & worship, without which other liberties would not long survive. May I never contribute to the loss of these dearly won blessings by my own selfishness, ambition, or indifference.

"Teach me furthermore, O Lord, that the enjoyment of freedom brings with it the responsibility to serve. To that end make me willing to respect the laws of my country, to serve my fellow citizens well in any office of trust to which I may be elected, to exercise faithfully my privilege to vote, & to give my loyal support to all public institutions.

"Bless all those in authority. Give wisdom & faithfulness to those in positions of leadership. Preserve them from becoming the prey of selfish pressure groups, & give them willingness to serve the interests of the public.

"Grant enduring peace to our country & its institutions, so that Your Gospel may be able without hindrance to turn the hearts of all from the bondage of sin to the freedom won by the blood of our precious Redeemer, in whose name & for whose sake we ask this. Amen." My Prayer Book

A HYMN FOR THE NATION

Before You, Lord, We Bow (LW #966, Sts. 1-2)

Before You, Lord, we bow, Our God who reigns above And rules the world below, Boundless in pow'r & love. Our thanks we bring In joy & praise, Our hearts we raise To You, our King!

The nation You have blest May well Your love declare, From foes & fears at rest, Protected by Your care. For this bright day, For this bright land--Gifts of Your hand--Our thanks we pay.

ST. PAUL'S JOURNEYS, JUNE 27 RECAP

Before I forget, our cabin steward was Nasser Farouk. Pretty good. Maybe not quite as good as Armando the Magnificent, our cabin steward on our cruise to Hawaii last year but still, pretty good.

We docked at the the port of Athens. Our intrepid tour guide was Aliki. Like the rest of our guides, she was impeccable. Our bus took us first to the Corinth Canal, built in the late 1800s. [REMINDER! You have to find Lois' FB page to see pictures.] This canal cut through the Isthmus of Corinth, connecting the Aegean to the Adriatic Sea. We met some people from Omaha & Norfolk there. Small world. We walked across the bridge to get a better view of the canal. It's 3.8 mi. long & very narrow, so only one small boat can navigate it at a time. The canal is 300' feet deep at its deepest point & blasted out of solid rock. We were in the Pelopynese province, the southernmost province in Greece.

Our next stop was at the site of Ancient Corinth. We had a view of the acropolis, 1800' in height. [I was grateful that we didn't have to walk it.] The archaeological site was excavated by Americans. Everything is in ruins. A fountain house provided access to water. The museum contained, as usual, lots of headless statues. The most interesting room contained many clay body parts. People made these body parts to correspond to parts of their bodies that needed healing. We're talking feet, hands, ears, heads, private parts, & more. People would take these to the temple, pray to them, & worship them. It's possible that St. Paul witnessed this, which inspired him to write about the Body of Christ being one body with many members, all equal in the sight of God.

Ancient Corinth had been inhabited since 7,000 B.C. Archaeological sites in NE maybe date back to the 1200s A.D., so we were continued to be amazed at the age of the ruins we encountered. The Romans conquered Corinth in 146 B.C. & destroyed the city, except for the Temple of Apollo. You can still view the massive columns. This temple was built in 600 B.C. This is where people bought meat sacrificed to idols, also witnessed by Paul, which probably led to his admonitions in 1st Corinthians. Anyway, Julius Caesar rebuilt the city as a place for army veterans. This was the city that Paul knew--the place where he, Aquila & Priscilla made tents. Corinth was one of the 4 major cities of the Roman Empire & may have had a population of 500,000 at Paul's time. By 700 A.D. the entire site was in ruins, due to earthquakes & barbarian raids, until it was discovered by Americans.

We had our group devotion near the supposed site of Paul's hearing before Gallio. At the conclusion of our devotion, we sang "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name." A nearby group, which included some people from Nebraska, applauded when we were finished. Very moving!

We had lunch at the foot of the Corinth Canal, where it opened into the Aegean Sea. There's a bridge at the mouth of the canal which sinks into the water when a boat approaches. Never seen anything like it! We had lunch at the restaurant. No gyros, but I did have souvlaki. Then it was back to the ship for a return to Athens. On our way back to the port, our guide pointed out "hills" that were actually the fill material from the construction of the canal. We had a buffet supper at the hotel, & an amazing thing happened. A woman approached me, because she recognized my last name. She asked if I was familiar with Ocheyedan. I replied that my grandpa had a farm near Ocheyedan, & my dad was raised on the farm. She introduced me to her husband, who was related to my grandpa & dad. What are the chances?

Thus concludes my travelogues. I hope you've enjoyed them. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, & we are so glad we went. So many high points that it's impossible to identify our favorites. We've been invited by friends to accompany them on a tour of the Holy Land in 2024. People who toured the Holy Land a few years ago, including David, Carmen, & Anita, strongly encouraged us to go, so we've got a big decision to make. So long!