What's In a Year?

What's in a year? Well if one would be able to recall all the events of 2008 you would be able to answer that question. The problem is that I can't remember everything, and that's probably a good thing. But I can remember a lot that took place in 2008. A lot of things happened in my personal life and that of mine and Clara's. In a discussion we had this morning it is apparent that we don't remember everything the same. That's why we need to write things down better than we do. And a lot of things have happened in our world, our church, our family, etc., things that have affected our lives in many ways.

Speaking of family, it was certainly good to be able to spend Christmas with at least a part of our family. Donald came to pick us up last week and take us to their place where we were able to spend time with Carol and her growing family. Their three girls were all there as were our three great grandsons. Donald left on Christmas day for a trip far far away from home, to visit his brother in Singapore and then with him and his wife to New Guinea to visit their cousin who is in mission work there. Their trip includes time in the jungle away from all contact with the outside world, something that not a lot of people want to do, including me. Anyway, that was a highlight of our time there, wishing him well, praying for his safety and safe return.

Carol brought us home yesterday and returned again today. That's a lot of driving to see that we were able to be with them, a sign to us that we were wanted there very much. It was sort of hard to accept that kind of generosity, but it was very much appreciated. And we enjoyed our time there very much, receiving much more than we gave, it seems.

That's a small part of what's in a year. It seems that I am able to remember for a short time those kind of good times, and also some of the more difficult times that came our way. But all in all I can say that the Lord is good, His love endures forever. He is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He is my King and my Lord, and I will serve Him as long as I live, no matter what. For me that's what counts in thinking about what's in a year. And so for 2009, if the Lord allows me to see that time in a few hours, I remain

Pilgrim on the way

Christmas Is What You Make It

It was hard for me to come to the conclusion stated in the title of this post. Like many other people I wanted everyone to celebrate Christmas like I do, and most of my friends as well. And I believe that a lot of people are, were that way, hence the oft quoted phrase, "put Christ back into Christmas."

But I finally came to the conclusion that Christmas is what you make it out to be. For most if not all of my readers its what we know Christmas is about from the traditional standpoint, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. In theological terms, the incarnation, God become human flesh, "God with us." But many other people in the nation, and around the world, celebrate Christmas only as a festive holiday, making gift giving and receiving and being with family the basis of the celebration, whatever form it may take. And may I add, drinking it up and getting tanked is widely tauted as part of any celebration, especially Christmas and New Year's parties.

I trust that each of you who may read this will have a Christmas season that will be filled with the love of the Jesus whose birth we celebrate this season of the year, and with the peace that He came to bring to "those with whom He is pleased." We are still planning at this point in time to be with part of our family in Missouri. Our spirits will be with the rest of our family in Cleveland, OH and Gilbert, AZ. Our prayer is for safe traveling, good health for all, and joyous times of being together as family.

I leave with you this ecard as my greeting this year. Enjoy. And I remain

Pilgrim on the way

Families and Holidays

Those of you who are familiar with the Advent season will recognize the image on the left as an Advent wreath. The church we attend is following the Advent season in our worship services, as have all the churches we have attended in the past for a long time. Advent is the season of the church year when we seek to prepare for the coming of the long awaited Messiah, whom we know was Jesus the Christ. In our time it is also a time for rekindling our hope for the return of Christ. And it is also a time for us to anticipate coming together as families to celebrate - for some to remember the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, as well as thinking anew about being prepared to meet Jesus when He returns. For others it is simply to celebrate a holiday season filled with the joys of gift giving and giving holiday parties of one sort or another.

Personally I enjoy all of the above, especially getting together with family and loved ones. Those always seem to create memories that last a long time. Since we do not live near any of our children and grandchildren, getting with them creates increasing difficulty. For one thing winter weather is always so unpredictable making plans to drive somewhere, either way, somewhat difficult. And taking the airways over any holiday season is becoming more and more difficult for us older folks.

This year is a good example of what I'm talking about. Our closest ones live near St. Louis, a good seven hour drive under ideal conditions. And even thinking about a trip to the Cleveland, OH area this time of year is totally out of the question. Flying to Arizona would be a better option except for the time of year traveling difficulties and expense. It has been expressed to us by our family in Missouri that they want very, very much for us to come there. And we would very much like to go there again this year (we were there last year too). How to get there the best possible way has been the question.

The issues are that our adult kids think that we, my wife and I, should not drive there and back by ourselves. This is based on my health and my wife's inexperience in driving in heavy traffic areas (she does fine on the interstate otherwise). And so the solution coming from them is that our son in law would drive here and pick us up and our daughter would bring us home. I really didn't want them to do that much driving, but I finally gave in to their reasoning. I guess that's what older parents are supposed to do in situations like this, right?

Anyway, we are now planning to spend Christmas with the Erions at their place and enjoy seeing all of their family, including our three great grandsons and our granddaughter who is carrying our fourth in her womb. I'm sure we'll have a great time there and that there will be lots of love shared by all. All of this is conditional on the weather permitting as well as my health permitting it. We'll be praying for that to happen, and I'm inviting you to join us in that prayer. I believe that God is interested in such things and that He seeks our peace and joy. However we are committed to listen to Him first of all for the direction we should take.

I'll no doubt post another blog or two before we leave this weekend, but due to the content of this post I want to wish all of you readers a very blessed and happy Christmas season as you celebrate again the birth of Jesus. May all your celebrations be filled with the peace, joy and happiness that knowing Jesus as Savior and Lord brings.

Pilgrim on the way

Cars

I've always liked cars. Too much at times I think. I can remember a trip I took with my parents in our family car, a Model A Ford, way back in 1937. We drove from our farm near Harper, KS to a Ford dealer in Anthony, KS to see about getting another car. While my parents were talking to a salesman I was looking at a brand new 1937 Ford sitting in the showroom. Wow, I thought, would it ever be neat to have this car! And as it turned out, we drove that brand new car back home.

I also have the notorious reputation of having traded cars twice when my wife was in the hospital after giving birth to one of our children. I've been chided about that many times. And I'm not exactly proud about having done that. As a matter of fact I traded cars quite a bit it seems. One trade I made stands out as being quite a deal. I had ordered a new 1967 Ford station wagon from the Ford dealer in Roanoke, IL, but when I finally got it I wasn't happy with it all - it was a dog, no pep and no power steering (I guess I forgot to order that). Anyway I went back to the dealer and made a trade with the "new" car for a 1964 Ford sedan, and a 1965 Ford sedan. Not a bad deal, huh? Both of those cars were in good shape and lasted us for some time.

As I stated above, I traded cars quite often since my first one, a 1940 Ford sedan. But now my car trading days seem to be over. In spite of the fact that all of the above mentioned cars are Fords and the one I'm now driving is a Ford, I've never really liked Ford that much. My favorite was the GM line of cars, Olds, Buick, Chevy, etc. But now its Ford again, even though I said before this one I would never drive a Ford again. From all appearances this may be our last car.

All of this is prompted by the current news that the attempts to "bail out" the American car manufacturers has all but fallen by the wayside. What will happen now is anyone's guess. I can't quite imagine not having Ford, GM and Chrysler not producing vehicles anymore. Some in my family have driven foreign cars a lot, and I even drove a Subaru, which by the way was a pretty good car. Many of my friends, now and previously, drive foreign cars. So I suppose we will somehow survive if the U.S. car makers go under, but then maybe no one will be able to buy a car for awhile.

We live in a mobile society and are very dependent on our cars. What the future will bring in the car industry will be quite interesting. I'll not be around for much of that as I'm on my way to a place where cars will no longer be needed. With that I've said enough about cars, and I simply remain

Pilgrim on the way

Pets

Inspiration for this post came from the blog of my niece who has adopted the stray she named Lydia. I wondered at the time about the wisdom of spending considerable money to try and salvage the life of such an animal. But then my mind went to my effort at the same thing several years ago.

During my last pastoral assignment I decided I wanted a lap dog. I went to an animal shelter (we used to call them dog pounds) and found a very small, very dirty, scrubby, yet cute little dog, which I proceeded to rescue for the redemptive fee of $35. Before I went to pick up the dog a few days later I made arrangements to have her cleaned up at a dog groomer, so after getting her in the car and making sure I kept her on the towels I brought along, I dropped her off at the groomer and did some other errands before going to pick her up. Wow, what a change a little soap & water, dog perfume, and a cute little bow can make!

What I found out about this cute little dog we named Mitzi was that she was a runner. Thirty minutes after getting her home from the vet someone came to our door and immediately after I opened the door Mitzi zoomed out and was gone down the street. I chased after her, but of course couldn't find her so I went home and gave her up for lost. In about 30 minutes I heard a bark outside and opened the door to find her across the street. My call was answered by a fast dash to our door where I received her gladly.

This pattern continued with Mitzi for, I'm not sure, a year or so. One day a neighbor about two blocks away came to our house carrying Mitzi saying she had found her in her yard and she easily had allowed the lady to pick her up. The lady said that they had lost a dog and had been praying for another one. I said, Lady the Lord has just answered your prayers - the dog is yours. So ended the saga of Mitzi the stray for me. Not surprisingly, the neighbor had the same problem with Mitzi, but they managed to keep her until she finally died of old age.

Pets were something we always had in our home when we grew up, starting with Old Wren, a German Shepherd we had on the farm just outside of Harper, KS when I was just a small boy, a dog I truly hated to leave when we moved to Illinois. My Mother raised registered dogs about three times to my knowledge, ranging from Rat Terriers to Boston Terriers, to Cocker Spaniels. Since my marriage we have owned a few pets from cats to a registered Miniature Pincher (which ran away or was stolen) to a quite large, black English Mountain Shepherd, to the afore mentioned Mitzi. Actually none of the pets we have had have made me wish for another at this stage of my life.

So there you have my pets story. I'm quite content to visit the pets in our children's homes, although I could do without some of them and not miss them at all.

One final question: Will there be pets in heaven? What do you think?

Pilgrim on the way

Grandkids

I like to think and talk about our grandkids, just like all good grandparents do. Now our grandkids are no longer the little kind that snuggle up on your lap, or come around wanting you to play with them. Ours are the kind that get bigger than even their dad, who is already bigger than his dad. Ours have their own lives that they are pursuing with varied enthusiasm. Regardless of where each one is in life we follow their lives the best we can through conversations with their parents, their blogs, or sometimes by their direct communications. We are interested in what life is bringing them and what direction their lives are going. Ours range in ages from 14 to 27, I think.

Grandkids don't always acknowledge our interest in them, if they know of it, but we believe that they care about their grandparents. I respect their way of life even if it is much different than ours, including their interests, pursuits, activities, friends, etc. The one hard thing for me to deal with is the speed with which they talk. I told someone recently that the youth of this age speak fast and I listen slow. I don't know if that's a good explanation of what I feel or not, but you can get the point. I don't expect to be able to speed up my listening ear much anymore, so I do what I can to get what I can, knowing that quite a bit sometimes gets past me.

Our grandkids all make their parents proud. That's quite commendable. Some may have given their parents a hard time, but that seems to be par for the course. We didn't have too much of a problem with our kids during their teen years. Oh yes, we did have some problems to be sure, but for the most part we enjoyed the teen years of our kids, and I think that was, and is, the case for our kids.

We love our family, all the members. They all are special in their own right. We want to hear about their struggles as well as their successes. We are very pleased also to have three great grandsons, with another one on the way, set for delivery early next year. God has blessed us richly and we are very grateful.

And so I remain

Pilgrim on the way

Links, etc.

Taking a clue from one of my nieces, I decided to add some hyperlinks to my blog site. Hopefully they will be of interest to some of you readers. At least I find them to be of interest to me.

I begin with Mennonite Church USA, the denomination I belong to. I have been a Mennonite all my life, partly by being born into a Mennonite family, and partly by my own choice. I regret that the "Mennonite culture" has often gotten in the way of the true essence of what it means to be Anabaptist. One can be an Anabaptist without being a Mennonite -- one can also be a Mennonite without being Anabaptist. Anyway, this web site provides many other links that can also be informative for those seeking to know more about this denomination.

Two links I have included are for periodicals that are produced by our denomination. One is for the official paper of MCUSA, The Mennonite. The other is the Mennonite Weekly Review, one that probably reaches far more homes than The Mennonite. I check these sites to read articles that keep me up to date on the thinking of people across the conservative/liberal (I cringe at the use of those terms) spectrum of our church. There are also the births, deaths, and letters from churches across the country that are of interest to those who are, or were, Mennos.

I have included the link supplied by Linda on the Amish. This is only for information and interest and does not represent in any way a full picture of Amish life as I'm acquainted with it. I lived among them for a good many years, worked with and for them, hauled them around in my vehicles, and am married to a wonderful lady whose parents were born and raised as Amish. The report you can read on this web site is from an Amish man who would stand far and above the average Amish person in terms of knowledge and literacy. But nevertheless an interesting site.

And I have included the link for a man who is a very deep theological thinker and writer. Some of his blogs I like a lot, some I just can't get into. If you want to read this kind of stuff Greg Boyd will certainly provide a stimulating challenge.

And finally I did decide to include one political link. I like to go here to get the "straight stuff" so to speak about the transition from one president to another. So much of what one gets on the regular news channels on TV include "frills" that may or may not be true, and a lot of guessing w/o solid information on what just might be about to happen. So for what its worth, this may be worth your checking out.

There you have it. I will go on to other things in my next post. Perhaps I can get a bit more interesting with the next one(s). Until then I remain

Pilgrim on the way

The Woodshop

Since moving here to Schowalter Villa in 2004 I have spent considerable time working in the Villa shop at my favorite hobby, woodworking. I have been able to make a considerable number of wood projects, some for outside, some for inside, some furniture, some ornaments, etc. For these projects I have purchased some wood from the local lumber yard, but for the most part I have been able to find used, quality wood in the shop for what I wanted to do.

Over the last few weeks we who have been working in the Villa shop have been informed that the Villa is facing the need to reduce or eliminate the liability risk of two wood shops. The executives who met with us wouldn't say that they are planning to close the shop in the main building, but to me it is obvious that it is their plan to do so. That would mean, among other things, that the only wood shop available would be the one located in the Wellness Center, a nice shop, but a small one.

In addition to the above, my health has not been such that I am able to do much physical work for any extended time. This has created some frustration for me and has left me without much to do for physical exercise. Also in the plans for the wood shop, the Villa wants to create a woodworkers club, with dues where the club would own and maintain the equipment and basically be responsible for their own shop, the Villa providing the space, etc. I informed the execs that I wasn't interested in that arrangement.

And so, I'm in the process of converting my wee, tiny storage area in front of our carport into a place where I can do a few things, with a few small tools. So far I have enjoyed salvaging some insulation from the dumpsters that has come from the remodeling project in the main building, and have purchased a few things to make a nice place to work. This has given me something to think about and do for the last few weeks (it takes me a long time to do anything) and to develop a vision for what I want to do in Wayne's Wood Shop. There is a place online where one can buy or sell homemade products that looks like something I might like to try.

I need a couple of shop tools now which I will need to purchase. I have some in view but will need to find the funds to purchase them. Hopefully that can happen before too long so that I can continue to keep my mind and body occupied.

Thanks for reading this boring post, but that's just where I am right now. The medical people are still working on my case and hopefully will find some answers one way or another before too long. My next Dr. appointment isn't until Jan. 13, so it will be awhile after that before I hear anything more. In the meantime I remain

Pilgrim on the way