LIFE THOUGHTS

"Surprise pregnancy & terminal diagnosis confront us with our own weakness. It even leads some to exclude embryos or incapacitated persons from humankind & execute them because of their weakness. Almighty God promises, 'My power is made perfect precisely in your weaknesses.' His grace radiates in human frailty, & the blessings He brings in every life more than make up for what we cannot." Grace Lutheran Church bulletin

RESOLUTIONS REVIEW 2024

* Lose 2 lbs. A. I've lost 2 lbs. Not too impressive, but still counts.

* 2 or less cups of coffee per day. C.

* Visit at least 1 national park and/or 1 national monument. A. In FEB we visited Castillo de San Marcos NM in St. Augustine. We plan to visit Craters of the Moon NM in Idaho, on our way back from our niece Katie's wedding in Corvallis, MT.

* Limit my reading to 1 conservative source per day. C.

* Avoid picking fights on Facebook. A-. I'm pretty proud of myself.

* Walk at least 4x per week. D. 

* Finish writing & publishing a devotion book. B. I've finished writing "Buzzwords," another 365-day devotional, & today I'm sending off my first submission to a Christian publishing house.

GPA:  C+

ROAD TRIPS

We head to CA this week. We'll spend time in Kingsburg, south of Fresno, where her sister Wanda & husband John live--also where our niece & godchild Teresa & her family live. Next weekend Lois & her sister will head to Mission Springs to help out with another Joni & Friends Retreat. [You should Google J & F. You'll be glad you did!] I'll get to hang out with my brother-in-law. I assume you're eager to read about our road trips thus far in 2024, so here goes.

> JAN:  MN for a visit with our son Nathan & his family. IA for a visit with my brother Mark, his wife Christy, & our niece & godchild Christal & her family.

> FEB:  FL for a visit with Lois' sister Kathy; also a side trip to St. Augustine, which I'd happily visit again, accompanied by Lois' sister Anita.

> MAY:  Another trip to MN to visit our son & his family, plus a couple of days in St. Peter. Also a trip to Sioux Falls, SD, to enjoy a comedy show by our favorite comedian, Nate Bargatze.

> JUNE:  A trip to Concordia, MO for Lois' St. Paul's College Class of 1974 50th class reunion; yet another trip to MN, this time to visit Lois' brother David & his wife Carmen, also my cousin, at their lakeside villa on Little Island Lake, east of park Rapids. And our annual family reunion with our kids & grandkids, this time in Omaha.

> JULY:  Our aforementioned trip to CA.

> PREVIEW:  AUG:  Our annual weekend with grandkids, this year just outside Sioux Falls. A trip to MT for our niece Katie's wedding, joined by siblings & more. SEP:  While Lois' & her sisters [plus 2 sisters-in-law] gather for Sister Bash in Charlotte, SC, I think I'll be going to our grandson Calvin's Grandparents Day at Trinity Lone Oak Lutheran School in Eagan, MN. OCT:  Lois & I will be on a Princess Cruise which will include 2 days in London, stops in Spain, Italy, Malta, & a day in Rome. DEC:  Lois, her brother John & sister Kathy will be in Washington, D.C. for Wreaths Across America. Not sure if I'll do my own little road trip.

FAVORITE DRINKS FROM EVERY STATE

Not sure I agree with all these choices, but here's what Reader's Digest, July/August 2024, chose. [I limited my entries to states where our family lives. I hope I didn't miss any.]

> Arizona, lemonade

> California, wine. "No duh."

> Colorado, hot chocolate.

> Florida, orange juice. Another "no duh."

> Iowa, Nehi grape

> Minnesota, The Bootleg. "Al Capone & other notorious mobsters allegedly sipped the concoction of citrus, sugar, & fresh mint because it packed the right punch to mask the burn of bootlegged liquor."

> Nebraska, Kool-Aid. "In 1920s Nebraska, entrepreneur Edwin Perkins" invented the powder."

> North Carolina, Cheerwine. "Affectionally nicknamed the Nectar of North Carolina, this cheerful cherry soda (nope, no wine in Cheerwine) is the official soft drink of the National Barbecue & Grilling Association."

> Texas, Horchata. Our grandson Bentley, a native Cornhusker, loves this drink.

TODAY'S TRIVIA *

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

"What is utepils? A Norwegian term that means 'enjoying a beer outside in a sunny day.'" According to Ancestry.com, I have some Scandinavian DNA, so I claim Norwegian ancestry.

HELICOPTER PARENTS *

* Source:  Reader's Digest, May 2024

"I once had a 2nd grade parent complain to the administration that they liked last year's teacher much better. I had taught this same student in 1st grade."

"A mom complained to my principal because she didn't like my fun Friday bubblegum font. I had to change it."

"A parent wrote, 'Since my child sees a speech pathologist for the half-hour before lunch, I'd appreciate it if you didn't teach anything new until he returns to the classroom.'"

" A mom, concerned that her kindergartner son wasn't drinking enough water, asked me to check the toilet after he used it so I could monitor the color of his urine & report back to her."

"I once had a parent accuse me of eating their kid's lunch & claimed they had an audio recording of me doing it."

POLITICAL POTPOURRI

I've been trying really, really hard to avoid political content, but I reached my breaking point this week. I mostly read reviews of the Trump-Biden debate, but I did watch a clip of Jill Biden escorting her husband off the stage at the end of the debate. God help us.

"Cutting out the middleman:  Dems will just have Trump debate Biden's teleprompter next time." Babylon Bee

"KJP claims Biden still had jet lag from driving that big rig around in the '60s." Ditto

"State Department reaches out to enemy nations requesting they only attack between 10:00 a.m. & 4:00 p.m. EST." Ditto

THE MEANING OF PATRIOTISM:  "Now that the smoke from the fireworks displays has faded, it seems like a good time to reflect on where we have come from and where we are as a nation . . . Our nation was born and paid for with the blood of Americans who laid down the plow and the hoe to pick up the musket and face down and defeat, at the time, the world’s greatest war machine.

"Our country grew, sometimes in fits and spasms, learning to be the nation of ideals our founding documents laid out. It took a great civil war costing the lives of hundreds of thousands from the North and the South to rid America of the stain of slavery. And many decades afterward, to finally accept people of color as equals. We fought in two world wars, many smaller ones, over our two-hundred-plus-year history. Each conflict is costly in American lives, and some are costly to the American spirit. But we persevered . . . 

"Today, we find ourselves in a similar circumstance: taxation without real representation, as it was with colonial life under British rule. We find ourselves now being ruled by career politicians who seem to care little about us. Their sole interest appears to be all about maintaining political control for themselves and, therefore, control over the lives of all Americans . . . 

"While the Marxists of today don’t refer to themselves as “Bolsheviks”, they are more likely to call themselves names like ‘The Squad’, ‘Progressives’, or ‘the Democrat Party’, their goals are not much different from the Bolsheviks of Russia. Control of the people. They themselves are sad and angry people whose sole enjoyment is being able to forcefully impose their will on others. That truly brings them the only joy they experience in their otherwise empty lives. So what do we do about America’s version of the Bolsheviks? Do we lay down our plows and hoes and pick up our muskets once again, as was done back in 1776 against the British?  Or do we beat them at their own game?

"Do we organize and fight against the “fundamental transformation” they wish to impose? Do we close our borders like a steel trap and forcibly (if necessary) return all illegal aliens to their place of origin? Do we empower our police to take back our streets? Do we remove the social justice warriors from our military and replace them with real warriors who understand that their job is to protect and defend America and not to be a proving ground for unpopular and ineffective social experimentation? Do we let our politicians know that we’ve had enough?  Do we intend to enact our own term limits, and do we need to amend the Constitution? All we have to do is vote out the career politicians who line their pockets and serve their interests over their constituents. And if voting doesn’t work, then do we investigate them and hold them accountable for the crimes they’ve committed?  The answer to all of those questions is an unequivocal and resounding YES!   We have the power to change things ourselves and commit to doing it.

"Much hard work lies ahead, but as it was then with the Bolsheviks in Russia, we the people far outnumber them now, we need to start acting like it.

To quote that famous American and founding father Patrick Henry, “I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death”."  Column by D.W. Wilber, Townhall