HOT!

Hot!  Scorching!  Roasting!

It has been over 100 degrees, several days of 105, 103, and the like.  Of course, working under the sun is considerably hotter still.

This is definitely weather requiring super hydration for anyone working outdoors.  I carry 3 gallons of water and it is usually mostly depleted by end of day.

Sweat.  Sweat.  Sweat.

It is amazing how much body energy is required for sweating.  It can be exhausting.

Work a few minutes and drink.  Work a few minutes and drink.  The weather is scorching, but with is pattern of working one can make it through the day without overheating, especially when one is accustomed to such working conditions.

Of course, those who work in air conditioned offices all day will need to be cautious when doing weekend duties in the sun.  The body needs to acclimate to the conditions over a period of time.  Shorter work periods for weekend duty warriors are advisable.  Work a few minutes, drink, rest, work a few minutes, drink, rest.  This is the cycle.

Most people are at least aware of this, but such things are often forgotten and neglected once the work begins.  “Gotta get done!”

Heat exhaustion or fatigue is serious and heat stroke can be fatal.

The old-timers remedied this quite successfully back home in Florida.  They would shower with the hottest water that a person could endure.  This opened the pores and drew out the heat from the body, allowing it to recover.

Anyway, it has been very hot.

Heigh ho!  Heigh ho!  It’s off to roast I go!


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What is Church Planting or Establishment?

Most religious organizations, especially those who apply the name of Christian to themselves, have people who are called “Church Planters” or something similar.

This week I noticed this concept stated on a Facebook page regarding that pastor’s and that congregation’s view of their purpose and mission.  The statement reads:

Ongoing work of the establishment of new Confessional Lutheran congregations throughout our region.

As I read this I was amazed regarding how totally foreign this sounded to me.  I was amazed because I was raised with this notion being taught in my home congregation and the church body to which this congregation belonged.  This was the language used at the seminary.  This was the language of my peers, my fellow pastors in that church body.

Until I was confronted with this statement on the Facebook page of one of my former peers, I did not realize how far removed I have become from this way of thinking.  Moreover, the longer that I considered the issue, the more that I realized that I never really held this notion to be the way of Christ’s Church.

Even when as a child and teenager and college student and then as a seminary student I felt a great urgency for and strong pull toward the work of a missionary, I never really embraced the concept of being an establisher of congregations.  I never really spoke against the concept and yet this never was the language of my heart, mind, and soul, either.

As I ponder this concept now, it actually is quite offensive to me.

When a person recognizes idolatry and blasphemy against God, the arrogance of these does injure one’s spirit and is a cause for grief.  When an individual or group of people begins to speak as though they were the ones accomplishing the miracle of Church, this is a very brazen theft of God’s glory, even though most people would perceive this as serving the Lord.

How do the Scriptures teach that a congregation becomes established?  The Scriptures teach that as the saints and especially the called preachers proclaim the Gospel that people are drawn together by the sweet and powerful words of God’s love, mercy, and salvation so that they draw near to hear more.  As the Holy Spirit works to congregate them, the saints lead them to the existing congregation, if one does exist in the area.  If not, they acknowledge that they have need to call/elect/ordain a pastor to administer to them the means of grace.  This then is not the accomplishment of a group or of an individual, but of the Holy Spirit working through the means of grace.  This is not the work of a missionary, nor of a church body, nor even of a congregation.  This is the work of God and He works it when and where He has determined.

God is the one who converted those who in their daily lives walk in spirit and display the love of God in their lives.  God is the one who gives homes and neighbors and friends and family, who then observe the mercy of God at work in the lives of His saints.  God is the one who generates interest so that people ask concerning the hope that the saints have and demonstrate in their daily sojourning.  God is the one who gives the answer to the saints to share with those who ask.  God is the one who works conversion in these new believers so that they cry out for more of this blessed Life.  As they gather together and cry out, God grants that they are now a congregation in need of a pastor to rule over the administration of God’s gifts as the called servant of the Word.  The pastor rules God’s household in the same manner as the master of a banquet rules over those gathered, not as their lord, but as the administrator and steward of the feast.

Most who would read what stands written above would like say “Amen” in principle.  Yet this is extremely rarely observed in practice.

This is why people imagine that they must have a church body or denomination in order to be validly counted as a church and as Church.  This is why many pastors who have spoken boldly against the sins and waywardness of their church bodies either did not leave their impenitent church bodies, or continued in them until another church body was organized to which they could bind themselves.

Then, having constructed or organized for themselves a new and improved church body, they and those with them begin to seek to pursue the “Ongoing work of the establishment of new Confessional Lutheran congregations throughout our region.”  When Confessional Lutheran is not the preferred label, others are supplied, such as orthodox, faithful, true, genuine, Bible believing, and Christ centered.

This mindset always leads right back to the failures from which the group tried to escape.  The reason for this is that the same corrupt and fallible approaches for establishment have been utilized.  The new church body has a new group of overlords who carry the same false notions that built that previous crumbling church.

Thanks be to God that the words proclaimed by St. Paul remain true yesterday, today, and forever:

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.   (Ephesians 4:4-6)

When we truly hear this, then we no longer try to be God and we no longer imagine ourselves as church planters or establishers of congregations.  When we truly hear this, we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, eagerly gathering to the preaching of the pure Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments in accord with that pure Gospel.  When this is what is happening, then we are gathered as the Church and all that we receive is purely by grace as God grants it through the faith that He works among us.

Is this really such an important distinction?

The distinction is one of whose works we trust.  Do we trust God’s works or our works?  Do we trust in the things that God has ordained for His Church, or do we trust in the things that we or our leaders have organized and established?

One way continues forever and never fails.

As for the other way, well, one only needs to look around to see the results of the other way.  Who can even count the failed attempts through the other way?

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A Tiny Nature’s Haven

Last week I began working to prune an Amur maple that had grown as a multiple stem tree and had overgrown the area in which it had been planted.  The two secondary main stems needed to be removed, and it needed to be deadwooded and cleaned and headed back from the three walls and roof.  As I began approaching the tree I found a baby rabbit in the enclosed bed looking up at me from the foot of the trunk of the Amur maple.

Then, as I began working in the tree I discovered a robin and her nest in one of the boughs to be removed.  She was quite upset.  She squeaked loudly and continually, which is an odd sound for a robin.  Then she began swooping at my head, but without actually making contact.  I warned her not to do this as I did not want to hurt her and I did not want to knock her baby and unhatched egg to the ground.  The baby appeared to have been hatched that day, perhaps only hours earlier.  I kept telling her that I was aware of her nest and that I would be careful not to destroy it.  But she continued squeaking and squeaking.  I kept assuring her that I would not hurt her babies and that I would move her nest to a new and safe location in the tree and that if she is a good momma that she will return to care for her babies.

Finally I changed my tone from apologetic to a firm and direct address, saying, “Listen, I know that you can understand me as the Lord can make my words understood to you, so listen.  I will not hurt your babies.  I will move the nest to a safe location and if you are a good mamma, you will return to take care of them.”  After this she stood on the roof looking at me for a few moments and then flew away.  I was able to relocate the nest to a safe place in the remaining tree branches and she returned to care for her baby and egg.

As I worked on the ground removing the two secondary mains,  I was very much startled when a momma duck suddenly took flight as I was working.  Her nest was in the corner behind me.  After she flew off, making quite a startling flutter, I saw her nest with six or seven eggs.  I was careful as I felled and dragged the large branches so as not to disturb her nest, nor the robin’s nest.  Momma Duck also returned to her eggs after I finished working in that little alcove.

Both mommas returned to their precious ones shortly after I cleared my equipment and branches from the alcove.  I was still working in the same area of the yard when they returned.  Momma robin returned to her nest and sat overlooking the front lawn.  Momma Duck flew back, landed in the grass and paced a bit, looking over her shoulder at me for a few minutes, and then flew back to her nest.

Such little adventures add considerably to the time required to do my work, yet I receive a sense of satisfaction and joy when I am able to save the little families from destruction.  I have moved other nests in the past, too.  If at least one of the eggs has already hatched, the rate of success is much higher.  It also helps when the nest can be kept in the same tree.  But even when it must be moved to another tree, if the babies have hatched so that they make some noise, sometimes the momma finds them and resumes her motherly care for them.  This baby was so newly hatched that it did not even make any noises.  But Momma Robin did find her babies.

Anyway, I thought that I would share this little bit of joyous success that I enjoyed this past week.

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But that would be Works!

In a conversation that was related to me, a person was confronted with performing an action that a Spirit guided conscience would demand, and the person responded saying, “But that would be Works!”

As you may have guessed, this person is a “Lutheran.”

The response was both asinine and disingenuous. It was deliberately used to hide the person’s desire to ignore what this person knew was good and godly and in keeping with the walk that is in the Spirit. The issue was clearly one of following one’s conscience regarding the true faith, yet the person responded as though doing as the Spirit of God leads one in one’s conscience would be an act of works righteousness.

Contemplating this caused me to ponder the state of Lutheranism in this day. Have Lutherans turned the avoidance of dependence upon works righteousness into an act of works righteousness? Have Lutherans taken the right understanding that no one can be justified before God by works of the Law and turned this into a new form of self-righteousness and justification by works? Have Lutherans imagined that they are righteous through the work of believing that they are not righteous by their own works?

As ludicrous as this sounds, it does seem to be what has happened in many cases.

Moreover, have Lutherans used this as an excuse for not doing what they know is right and true? Have Lutherans claimed to be avoiding the false belief in salvation through their own reason and strength as an excuse for not rightly using the reason and strength that God gives to them?

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Stump Grinding

Tree work can be grueling work. Climbing, lifting, dragging limbs, chipping limbs and debris, and grinding stumps, all are hard physical activities. But there is also beauty to much of the work and especially when the job is complete.

Here is a photograph of an Osage stump showing the beauty of the wood and the extensive spreading of the roots. One stump that I recently ground had a root almost as big around as I am that I chased for over six feet.

The following series of pictures shows how deeply the stumps and roots sometimes grow and how much grinding is involved in removing the entire stump and root structure.

And of course, the completed project.

. . .

Baptism Questions

On another blog I responded to some statements that were made by someone who does not believe that the Scriptures teach that Baptism saves us and that babies are to be baptized. The arguments are very much like the usual arguments against these matters of doctrine and practice.

Much confusion and division exists among people claiming to be believers of the faith declared in the Bible. Many different conclusions are drawn in accord with the many different presuppositions that are imposed upon the Biblical texts that people read and try to understand.

These are not small matters. They actually change the entirety of the faith embraced by those holding the various positions.

I share here the content of what I wrote in response to this person’s objections. This certainly is not a comprehensive dealing with the matter. It does nevertheless address the issues and demonstrates at least some of the Scriptures that speak to these matters.

For your consideration:


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I challenge you to consider several Scriptures regarding the positions that you have stated concerning Baptism.

In John 1:12-13 St. John plainly teaches that receiving Jesus is a passive act on the part of those who are born to become sons of God, that their regeneration or birth is “not of the will of man, but of God,” that is, not of human decision but of God’s action alone.

In John 3 the Lord Jesus teaches the Pharisee, Nicodemus, regarding the regeneration or above-generation or rebirth by which we are brought into the kingdom of God. First He says that except one be “gennethe anothen” = “generated from above” he cannot see or perceive the kingdom of God.

When Nicodemus demonstrated that he was not able to perceive the kingdom of God, Jesus further explained: “except one should be generated out of water and Spirit, not able is he to enter into the kingdom of God.”

So why would Jesus teach that one is not able even to see the kingdom apart from being born from above and then to say that one is not able to enter the kingdom apart from being born out of WATER and SPIRIT unless this were true? Give this serious thought and answer it for yourself.

In Titus 3 St. Paul writes:

But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; (Titus 3:4-5)

St. Paul says that God our Savior saved us how? “By the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,” and NOT by works of righteousness that we have done.

In Ephesians 2 St. Paul says that we are saved by grace through faith. He says that this IS NOT of ourselves and not a work of our own but a gift of God. He says that faith is NOT something that we do.

In 1 Peter 3 St. Peter says that Noah and his family were saved BY WATER (vs. 20). Then he says in verse 21, “baptism doth also now save us.” Did St. Peter lie or does baptism save us?

In Acts 2:38-39 St. Peter tells those in whom the Holy Spirit pierced their hearts with the preaching of the Word,

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

St. Peter says that the promise of Baptism is for “you AND your CHILDREN.” He says that the effects of Baptism are the forgiveness of sins (= salvation) and the gift of the Holy Spirit (= faith and communion with God). He says that this promise is for your children.

Which part of this is not a statement of the Scriptures? Which part is not true?

Does the fact that God has worked specially for someone like the thief on the cross so that he was saved, does this nullify the clear words of the Lord Jesus and His apostles regarding the effects and the promise of Baptism?

There is much more that can be said on this matter, but these questions are ones that you should give serious consideration. The statements are recorded in the Scriptures. The question is: why do people reject them and invent their own beliefs instead of what the Scriptures plainly teach?

St. Paul writes:

In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2:11-12)

St. Paul calls Baptism the circumcision of Christ by which we are buried and cut off from the sins of the flesh. He calls faith the operation of God by which we are raised with Christ. This operation of God St. Paul links directly to His working in and through Baptism, the circumcision done without hands, that is, with water and the Word through which the Spirit comes and sanctifies from within.

Yet you and those who have taught you say these things are not taught in the Scriptures. Ask yourself why you follow those who reject these clear passages rather than believing what the Holy Spirit has recorded? What is the reason that you and many others do not believe these words of Scripture? Perhaps no one has ever presented them to you clearly. I do not know the reason, but you would do well to challenge yourself in this matter.

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A Love Letter

This is a letter that I wrote today to someone for whom I have deep and abiding love. Personal points have been removed, but perhaps someone reading this can apply it personally for personal benefit.

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I have something to share that may be of some help to you in your internal struggles. Consider the following:

The things that you do, if they are from pure motives, are not done so that someone cannot say that you did not do thus and so, but rather they are done simply from loving concern and care. If truly your actions flow from the love of God in Christ, then no one can effectively accuse you otherwise. You will be able to stand firm in God’s love, unmoved by anything that may confront you. God’s love and works are our defense, not our love and actions. Our love fails. Our actions are corrupt. Our faith and trust are false. But Christ bore our sins, our weaknesses, our falseness of faith, our failures, our condemnation.

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)

Therefore, do not walk after the flesh. Do not live looking to your own faith, your own attempts at loving actions, your own devotion to God. Look not to these but to the faithfulness of God in Christ, to the salvific works of Jesus, to the means of grace. These are the things wherein we walk in spirit. In these no condemnation exists.

Think on these things. You will find them to be the way of surety.

The New Year Began with a Surprise

The first week of the new year has been very busy and trying.

New Year’s Eve at about 11:30 pm I noticed that the water pressure was very low. “Oh no!” I thought. I knew that the old galvanized iron water pipe must have burst finally. So I checked and found water bubbling up from deep in the soil of the front yard. “Oh no!”

I turned and went back into the house and filled the sinks and a couple of small buckets with water so that we would have some for the morning. I knew that most stores would be closed the next day and that I might have trouble obtaining parts to patch the line.

Saturday, New Year’s Day, I dug the hole to find the break in the water line. The hole, the first of four that I would dig, was about 6 ft long by 2.5 ft wide by 4 ft deep. Thankfully both Ace Hardware and Lowes were open for part of the day so that I was able to purchase the PVC compression couplings that allowed me to splice the line. Our next door neighbor graciously allowed us to fill buckets from his house so that we could flush the toilet and do other immediately necessary water activities. By nightfall the patch was complete and we had water again.

Monday I called the city central inspection office to purchase the required permit. The rest of the week I dug three more holes, two the size of the first and another about half that size. I rented a trencher for the 40 or 50 feet between the holes. Sadly, this trencher trenched so narrowly that the trenching shovel was very hard to use in removing the bottom crumbs of soil. I checked to see whether any of the irrigation supply or other plumbing supply places had a tool for removing such crumbs. Of course not. I could not even find a suitable scoop that I could purchase.

So I invented one. I needed one that was about 3.5 inches wide. So I made a scoop with which I could drag the soil to the larger holes for removal with a shovel. It was even more effective than I had hoped. Dad often quoted the old saying that necessity is the mother of invention.

Such work has a period of learning connected with it. The city requires that only certain types of pipe and fittings be used. Connecting to old copper pipe/tubing deep in the ground is challenging, but someone invented a wonderful adapter called SharkBite®, that one simply shoves onto the existing pipe after cleaning it thoroughly. It bites onto it and seals the union. Wonderful product!

Of course, finding the old copper line was a challenge, not having any record of how it exited the house. That hole was actually the largest of the four, being much wider. This was also through the gate through the fence to the back yard and under a sidewalk.

This fact is the cause of my being injured. In this area we have a motion sensor light that seems to prefer to turn off at critical moments. Thursday evening was such a time. As I stepped across this large hole through the gate the light turned off, causing me to misstep and fall. Catching myself against the wall with my left arm extended I injured my shoulder quite badly. That night I was in agony all night with no position that did not feel as though my shoulder was tearing apart. Ice and hot packs and Ibuprofen seemed to be of no benefit. Relief came slowly as I pressed on for the next two days through the pain. The inspector gave his approval Friday so that the holes and trenches could be refilled. Perhaps the work actually helped with the healing. I made a tamper for my mother-in-law’s trenches a couple of years earlier. It really compacted the soil and worked my arms thoroughly.

The shoulder still hurts, but it seems to be healing so that today I can return to working in the trees. Such things continue to amaze me. How the body has been designed by God is truly something that fills me with wonder and awe. Moreover, I know that He kept my injury from being as bad as it should have been. I could have and probably should have received broken bones as well as torn ligaments. His protection far exceeds even that of which I am aware.

So, now the long needed work of replacing the water line has been completed. I was able to finish the project as the threatening snows approached, the first small flakes falling as I folded the tarps and put away the tools. Even in this I see God’s gracious activity, for the water line broke at a time when we could do without running water for a day and when I would have the next day free to make the needed repair. If I am willing to see it, God’s gracious activity is manifest in all things. Thankfully, He makes me aware, even when I often want to grumble.

This is the greatest miracle of all, that He works in the heart to convert me and preserve me as a son of the true faith. This works in me repentance from what I would be and do and think and say so that by the Holy Spirit’s tireless work, the sanctification given in my baptism is manifested in my life. What greater miracle could God work than to convert me by grace through faith so that I am saved and declared to be righteous for Christ’s sake and that this justification and sanctification are made to be manifest above and beyond what I would do according to my own reason and strength?

When the Lord brings this to my awareness, I find myself realizing that this year has begun very well for me and my house.

Always Something

”The shower drain is not draining!”

OK. Stop preparations for going out to work. The shower drain is full of hair again.

It is not that I don’t want to do it. Actually, like any work, it has a sense of reward attached to it. At the end of the job, something has been accomplished. It may be small in the grand scheme of the activities of one’s life, but it nevertheless is a good job done.

In Ecclesiastes Solomon writes that every activity is vanity, saying: “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.”

At the end of it all he concludes:

The end of the whole matter let us hear: --`Fear God, and keep His commands, for this is the whole of man. For every work doth God bring into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether good or bad.' (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 YLT)

God has attached even in this age a sense of reward to the little things that we do, if we do them from the perspective that St. Paul admonishes us:

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. (Colossians 3:23-24)

In Christ we receive the reward even before we do anything. Christ and the new life that He gives is our reward. This reward, that He has earned for us, changes us from the inside out. As we grow in understanding this, it is manifested in the things that we think, say, and do. More and more God shows us His faithfulness as the Holy Spirit works within us to show us the sanctification that is given to us in our Baptism. He works tirelessly to make known to us who we are in Christ, who we are in accord with His holy declaration in our Baptism in connection with the faith that is poured out to us with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to dwell in us all the rest of our days.

According to our own efforts, all that we do is vanity and a vexation of spirit. According to even our best efforts, all that we do is a demonstration of futility. Yet in Christ, our futility is turned to everlasting glory. In Christ we are judged to be holy and righteous children of God. In Christ every act is counted as holy.

But we only enjoy this presently as we heed the urgings of the Holy Spirit and do what He urges. How blessed we are to be able to do all things as unto the Lord! This is a blessing and joy only known by the saints.

Tough Life Reality

Life in this old world can be tough. This week has been a tough week for me. It has been a week filled with unexpected and difficult circumstances. Every week is tough for an arborist. Climbing trees, hauling heavy tree debris, grinding stumps, repairing equipment, all takes a toll on the body and often the bank account.

But this week the Lord seems to have thought that I needed some special tests to remind me of my dependency upon Him in all things. That is my guess anyway. He often does not provide any explanation for the things that He sends into my life, but I do know that in all things He works good toward me and that He uses all of the trying experiences in my life to call me to continual turning of my heart, mind, spirit, and life (often also called: repentance).

I have been working very hard the last few weeks, doing some very strenuous work, with many little challenges. Monday I completed an emergency tree removal for a lady who was concerned about the potential for property damage. It was a very large Bradford pear that was located between two houses. She also needed the stump and roots to be ground. It seems that the industry standard now is to grind a stump to 6-8 inches, but I grind much deeper in attempt to remove all of the primary stump and roots. Having finished grinding and cleaning the job site and loading a trailer load of logs, I set off to examine some trees and prepare some bids along the way home. I planned to finish cutting the logs to firewood size for a neighbor who needs the firewood to help her and her children save some heating expenses this winter.

However, my poor old pickup truck began to overheat and pump radiator fluid into the reservoir and then the street. I stopped, let it cool enough to open the radiator cap, and added water. But it was acting very strange. It kept over heating and it seemed that either the thermostat was stuck or that the water pump had quit. I ended up stranded in traffic hour one car length from a busy intersection. So I called the tow company. My cell phone kept cutting out, so the dispatcher misunderstood and sent the wrong truck, but we towed the pickup and trailer out of the way of the traffic into a parking lot. Then the driver called another driver with another truck. . . the process extended into the late evening.

I need my pickup, so I focused on getting it repaired. It took a couple of days to get it back from the shop and last night and today I am working to replace the hoses, since they are old.

But the next day, I cut the logs. I always wear my hard hat, with the face screen and hearing protectors. Yet somehow a small piece of wood became lodged in my right eye. I worked at flushing it with water for much of that evening, but it kept hurting and feeling like the debris was still in my eye. In the morning I went to the eye doctor. The good news was that I had managed to flush the debris from my eye. The bad news was that it did scratch the cornea. To prevent infection the doctor prescribed an antibiotic and anti-inflammatory eye drop for 7 days.

This picture gives perspective to the size of the prescription. $ 62.62 !!! And that is for the generic brand. I’ve heard of medications that cost more than imagination allows, yet even this is outrageous.

The following pictures serve as a reminder of how difficult it is for a person to attempt to deal with issues affecting one’s own eyes.

Even taking these pictures was a challenge. Attempting to see debris in the eye was far more challenging.

I’ve had some other challenges this week as well, but the matter with the eye was by far the greatest. It brings to mind the admonition of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 7:3-5:

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

As I mentioned above, in all things, and especially in the challenges and trials of this life, a continual call to be turned again to the Lord sounds forth. The Lord is continually calling to us to be turned again unto Him and His mercy and love and providence. If we are listening, we recognize His calling to us and we are turned again and again throughout our earthly lives. Then, we learn to give thanks in all things, even in the trials and tribulations, even giving thanks for these gifts from God, as we learn in the General Prayer of the Church (TLH pgs. 23-24). Every Sunday I marvel at this prayer. I find myself reflecting upon it throughout each week. It is truly a marvelous prayer.

So today I give thanks for the life that the Lord has given to me and for all the blessings that He brings into my life, including these many struggles that cause me to be turned again to Him, even sometimes with the simple question of “Why Lord?” That simple prayer is truly a wonderful prayer, if it leads one back to the Scriptures to hear the answers that God has provided even before we ask. The answers are recorded for us, if we are willing to hear them and receive them. Ultimately, they all lead back to the preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and that is the one answer that we most need to hear.

Brush Bandit Chipper

This video demonstrates the model of chipper that I use in my tree business, Model 250. The chippers in this video are newer and have larger engines than mine, but operate the same and with the same capacity, up to 12 inch diameter logs.


As can be seen in this video, these machines are designed for safety, but are nevertheless very dangerous. A twisted log, like the one in this video can sometimes move from one side to the other very rapidly. If standing in that area, it packs an horrendous wallop. On a few occasions I have been knocked across a sidewalk on the one side and part way across a street on the other side. The new models are easier to feed from the sides where this is less likely to happen.

For what it is worth, I thought that I would share this video, showing one piece of equipment commonly used by arborists.

Indigenous, Naturally Available Remedy

As I was reading this evening I was reminded of a circumstance from the past.

On one of the tree jobs that I worked, a tree removal in a cemetery, I was employed to remove a diseased tree that had grown next to a chain link fence. The area to fell the tree was, of course, full of tombstones and benches and statues. The tree had to be felled so as to do no damage to any of these.

The tree fell perfectly, landing exactly where I had planned. However, the curvature of the trunk was such that having hit the ground it forced the tree to bounce and to twist so that it bounced back at me. The trunk landed on my foot, slamming into my ankle and shin, pinning me against the fence and ground. I had a helper that day, and together we rocked the tree sufficiently to unpin my foot and leg.

My leg should have been shattered, but it was not. Whether the Lord sent an angel or simply prevented the bones from shattering, He prevented serious injury. However, my foot and leg began to swell badly. We could see the bruised area rise as it swelled.

First I thought, “How will I get ice for my leg?” We were at least half a mile from the cemetery office or any other facility. But it was winter and the ground was frozen with ice and snow all around. So I immediately hobbled to where the sun had shone and partially thawed some ice and soil, forming a small patch of icy mud. I rolled up my pant leg and stripped off the work boot and sock. Then I packed my foot and ankle in the icy mud for 15 to 20 minutes. We watched the swelling go down almost as quickly as it had risen.

Then I brushed away the mud pack, put on my sock and boot, and finished the job.

The point of sharing this story is to serve as a reminder that God provides the way, and if we are open to perceive it we receive it. God had provided for my rescue and healing through means that I ordinarily despise. But on this day I was very thankful that God had sent the wintry mix of ice and snow and frozen ground. He had already provided the means for my first aid before I had any notion of needing any aid. Without the frozen mud pack to apply with such rapidity, the swelling would have caused considerable damage, for which I would have needed days to heal.

Truly the Lord is our gracious Father who provides all that we need for this life and for the life to come. If we have proper fear of Him, then we fear not the things that sneak up on us in our daily walk, so that we remember His goodness and power and grace and we expect to see and hear and perceive what He has provided for us so as to make proper use of His providence.

Labor Day

Labor Day, a day that is intended to give those who are burdened and weary a day of rest.

Most people seem to welcome Labor Day as a day to forget the mundane daily routine that wears people down to the point of feeling trapped and without real purpose. People take time to travel, to visit friends and relatives, or just to take off and do nothing of the usual routine. They recreate. They rest from their labors.

Amazingly, the same people often resist honoring the Lord’s day of rest. He invites the heavy burdened and the weary to turn aside from their daily struggles to receive from Him the rest that He alone can provide. He even goes so far as to command it, because He knows how much we need the rest that is found only in communion with Him.

Isn’t it strange that we eagerly embrace a manmade day of rest, embracing it with our very being, while the day that God has given and established is so often despised? What different people we would be, how different our lives would be, if this were reversed!

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