Sunday Supplication - Our Purpose and Fulfillment

O Lord God, we recognize your power and might. We believe you are the author and giver of all good
things. 

By your grace and mercy, place in our hearts a deep and true love for you. Help us to follow Jesus. Nourish us with all goodness. And help us to bear the fruit of good works as your Spirit does your transforming work in us.

We confess our sin and ask you to forgive us.  And beyond forgiveness, we ask that you would change us and strengthen us that we might overcome temptation and escape the sins that entangle and diminish us.

We also ask for the grace and generosity to forgive others, even as you have forgiven us.

We thank you for saving and reaching out to us. Thank you for being a God of deliverance. Help us to embrace the calling we have in Christ and to find our purpose and fulfillment in him.

Through Christ, we pray. Amen.

Saturday Smile - Undecided Voters

This election will determine the future of our country.
And this election will be determined by the Undecided Voter.

Friday Food - Pumpernickel Pretzels

The craving for a tasty, crunchy, savory snack can be a difficult thing to manage when you're trying to stick to a healthy diet. Trader Joe's Pumpernickel Pretzels are great to have on hand. I keep a jar of them on the counter in my kitchen.

These are the most flavorful satisfying little pretzels I've ever tasted. They have only about 14 calories in each stick. Two or three sticks are a guilt-free way to scratch the crunchy snack itch. You can also break up a few of the sticks to sprinkle on top of a good salad. They are whole grain and have a rich flavor I like even better than most croutons.

Thursday Thinking - Stop Wasting Food

This is so basic and yet so potentially world-changing. It's a big idea that makes me think seriously about my world, my kitchen, and my habits. We really do need to consider what we can we do as individuals, families, neighborhoods, organizations, businesses, and nations to stop wasting food.

From TED.COM - -
Western countries waste up to half of their food. This is an injustice Tristram Stuart has dedicated his career to fixing. In his newest book, Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal, Tristram shows how changing the systems that result in food waste could be one of the simplest ways to reduce pressure on the environment.

The winner of the international environmental award The Sophie Prize in 2011, Tristram is the founder of Feeding the 5000, a consciousness raising campaign where 5000 members of the public are given a free lunch using only ingredients that otherwise would have been wasted. Held in Trafalgar Square in 2009 and 2011, the event has also been held internationally.

Wednesday Words - The Peace of Wild Things

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Wendell Berry, "The Peace of Wild Things" 
from The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry. 
Copyright © 1998.

Tuesday Tome - The American Soul

Tonight is the first session of my current Book Club at Valley Christian Church. We'll be covering the first 180 pages and I'm looking forward to the discussion.

Our book selection is The American Soul (Jacob Needleman). The dates and topics for our book club discussions are as follows.

Dates and Topics:
September 25, 7:00pm - Ideas and Beginnings (pp. 1-188)
October 9, 7:00pm - Crimes and Failings (pp. 189-268)
October 23, 7:00pm - Democracy and Hope (pp. 269-356)

From Publisher's Weekly--
San Francisco State philosophy professor and author Needleman invites readers to contemplate the deeper spiritual meaning of the American legacy of "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." Finding a deep resonance between the founding principles of this country and the ancient spiritual quest for an inner liberation, Needleman proceeds to examine and "remythologize" the founders and some of their great deeds.

The reader is asked to consider Franklin's courageous experimentation ("...the man played and worked with lightening!"), Washington's restraint retiring from the army and later from the presidency rather than exploiting his matchless popularity and political power, Jefferson's brilliant articulation of the value of community, and the sheer gravity and awareness in Lincoln's face.
....
While Needleman clearly finds much to love about America, he balances our light with our darkness, our genuine good will and spirituality with our great crimes of slavery and the genocidal abuse of the American Indian. Decidedly not for strict materialists or historical literalists, Needleman's latest work gives open-minded readers a new set of spiritual role models and much valuable food for thought at a crucial moment. 

Monday Music - Country Strong

The Cactus Blossoms got a nice write up by Chris Riemenschneider that appeared on the VITA.MN website and in the StarTribune. The piece is titled "Country Strong" and in it, Riemenschneider says, "The Cactus Blossoms have quickly turned into the Twin Cities' most beloved new traditional-country act." That's good to hear. They've always been a beloved act in their old pappy's book!

Click Here to Read the Article

Below is a Live & Breathing video of The Cactus Blossoms recorded on their summer tour in the Portland area.


Cactus Blossoms - Traveler's Paradise from Live & Breathing on Vimeo.

Sunday Supplication - Help Us to Hold On

O Lord, help us to not to be stressed out over earthly troubles, but, instead, to trust you see us through. Even now, as we live among things that are passing away, help us to hold on to the things that last forever.

We confess our sins and we thank you for your faithfulness to forgive us and purify us. And as your grateful children, teach us and help us to be faithful to forgive others. May the resurrection power and grace of Jesus help us restore relationships, heal wounds, calm fears, forgive offenses, and resolve strife.


O God, help us find our life and meaning and purpose in Jesus. We desire to surrender to him more and more. Give us the wisdom and the will to submit ourselves to you as we follow Him.

It’s in his name that we pray these things. Amen.

Saturday Smile - Jesus Had a Wife?

You've probably heard all the buzz about an "ancient" manuscript indicating that Jesus had a wife. CLICK HERE to read about it.

From New York Times:
A Faded Piece of Papyrus Refers to Jesus' Wife
by Laurie Goodstein
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A historian of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School has identified a scrap of papyrus that she says was written in Coptic in the fourth century and contains a phrase never seen in any piece of Scripture: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife ...’ ”
READ MORE

On The Daily Show, Jon Stewart had a lot of fun lampooning this "evidence" and some of the "news" outlets "reporting" about this "stunning new artifact." Hilarious!

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Friday Food & Friends - Gasthaus Oktoberfest

Tonight my wife and I will be heading out to Stillwater to meet friends for an evening of fun and great food at the Gasthaus Bavarian Hunter restaurant. The Gasthaus is throwing their annual Oktoberfest celebration.

The weather should be perfect, the food will be amazing, the live music and dancing will be fun, the brewskis will be cold, and the company will be sweet. If that sounds like your idea of a good time and you're free tonight, maybe you should head to Stillwater too. It's always fun to bump into more friends.


Oktoberfest 2012
September 14th-16th & 21st-23rd
Fridays & Saturdays 5:00-11:00 pm and Sundays noon-6:00 pm
Huge festival tent, German food, beer and music. 
The Artie Schaefer band Fri. and Sat.- must be 21. Sundays are family days with live music. Noon-6:00 pm - all ages welcome.



The Gasthaus Bavarian Hunter is a family owned and operated German restaurant nestled in a pine forest since 1966. Built in the rolling hills that reminded him of his native Bavaria The Gasthaus is the vision and dream of Karl Schoene and his wife Elizabeth. Immigrating to St. Paul with their family in 1957 Karl and Elizabeth worked and looked for a place to build their dream in America. The Gasthaus land was purchased in 1963.

Read More Here 

Thursday Thinking - Electronic Pull Tabs

Expanding gambling in Minnesota in order to pay for a new Vikings stadium is simply one of the worst ideas I have ever heard. It's a spectacular blend of corporate excess, bad governance, and societal decline.  It's a pathetic way to raise money, so the state can spend money we shouldn't be spending, in order to help people waste money they could use for something far better.

That's what I think. What do you think?

CBS News: E-pull-tabs hit Minn. bars to fund Vikings stadium
ROSEVILLE, MN — Gamblers tried out Minnesota's first electronic pull-tab games Tuesday in a handful of bars, as a new form of small-dollar gambling intended to help pay for a $975 million Vikings stadium ventured into the marketplace.

Five games including "Treasures of the Jungle" and "Mystic Sevens" were available at O'Gara's Bar and Grill in St. Paul and four other locations Tuesday afternoon, hours after the state Gambling Control Board approved the electronic pull-tabs at a packed meeting in Roseville. The games cleared their last regulatory hurdle with no debate and no drama, and attention quickly shifted to the rollout of the brightly colored, animated wagers on iPads.

Minnesota becomes the first state to widely offer electronic pull-tabs in bars and restaurants for charitable causes ranging from youth sports to services for the disabled.

READ COMPLETE ARTICLE

Wednesday Words - One World at a Time

Porch Swing in September
The porch swing hangs fixed in a morning sun
that bleaches its gray slats, its flowered cushion
whose flowers have faded, like those of summer,
and a small brown spider has hung out her web
on a line between porch post and chain
so that no one may swing without breaking it.
She is saying it's time that the swinging were done with,
time that the creaking and pinging and popping
that sang through the ceiling were past,
time now for the soft vibrations of moths,
the wasp tapping each board for an entrance,
the cool dewdrops to brush from her work
every morning, one world at a time.

"Porch Swing in September" by Ted Kooser, from Flying at Night. 
© University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005.

Tuesday Tome - Washed and Waiting

I'm working my way through a long list of books on the topic of homosexuality, human sexuality, and Christianity. Thorough and thoughtful study on this subject is a challenging and demanding task, and one that is especially important for my work as a pastor. I'm enjoying the study and I am enjoying the many real life conversations I'm having these days with people who come from diverse and sometimes conflicting perspectives.

Just yesterday, I completed a wonderful little gem of a book by Wesley Hill entitled, Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality. Hill is a Christian who self-identifies as gay, but celibate. Hill shares his own very personal and confessional view on what it means to follow Christ, to pursue holiness, and to be defined by his faith rather than his sexual inclinations. He tells his own story with great candor and shares the inspiration he has gained from others, such as Henri Nouwen and Gerard Manley Hopkins, who have struggled similarly to reconcile their religious beliefs with their same-sex attraction.

I highly recommend the book. It is much more than a book about homosexuality. It is a book about human sexuality in the context of faith, submission, and spiritual formation. In that regard, it offers much to think about for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation.

Click Here for More Info

Monday Music - Katie Herzig

I was able to see Katie Herzig in concert last Friday night in Omaha, NE. What a talented writer and performer! One of the songs she performed from her new album, The Waking Sleep, was "Lost and Found." Here's her video for that song.



Lost and Found
I know you left me standing there
Out of the calm of the coldest air
I don't believe the words you said
But I can't find the words I want
Oh, I can't find the words I want

If you were gone in another life
I don't believe I would just survive
I could feel you next to me
An escape from the world I'm in
Oh, I'm afraid of the world I'm in

One day I will see Heaven's reach
I'll find the one who left me sleeping
Every war was another seed
That could feed every soul in need
Oh, I'm worn by the war in me

Somebody found me here
Somebody held my breath
Somebody saved me from the world you left
If you're gonna cry my tears
If you're gonna hold my breath
If you're gonna let me see the sun you set
Oh, I am lost and found
Oh, I am lost and found

Somebody found me here
Somebody held my breath
Somebody saved me from the world you left
If you're gonna cry my tears
If you're gonna hold my breath
If you're gonna let me see the sun you set
Oh, I am lost and found
Oh, I am lost and found
Oh, I am lost and found
Oh, I am lost and found