Blog - Mercy & Grace

Hermey: Hey, what do you say we both be independent together, huh? 

Below are photos from my home office (I’ve discovered that you can see them a bit more clearly if you click on them.)

Saturday, my father, my daughter, and two friends went to cut our Christmas tree.  Every year, we march out to some spot out of town for the annual sawing down of the Tannenbaum.

Ten years ago yesterday, all was mostly well in my world.

Persistently needy, glommy people, people who must satiate their need for affirmation by demanding to be in the limelight, are children of God.

So, poverty is in the news here in South Dakota.

I have Reinhold Niebuhr on the mind these days.

Today, at 10:00 p.m., South Dakota will execute a man, and another man within the next couple of weeks.

This blog is a posted version of the sermon I preached this morning at Springdale Lutheran, and in light of the events in Colorado, and in light of the day-to-day lives of so many  suffering sisters and brothers in the world.

The below appeared in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader newspaper today.  I’m reposting it here, because it’s a Holy Saturday-ish set of musings.

Today we awoke to a Christmas Day for the picture books.

Last week, I got this query:
Hello Anna,

The other day, my good friend told me that she’d watched a show about the Rogue Wave Phenomenon.

Eight years ago yesterday, daughter Else was born.

“It took me a long time to learn that God is not the enemy of my enemies. He is not even the enemy of His enemies.”

Anna- curious of your understanding of Matthew 13:36-43.  Is this really telling of a one time judgement and not an eternal one?  I was thinking of our conversation at Outlaw Ranch this past week.  It sounds pretty eternal to me.

The problem I see every day amongst Christians is the inability to find a more practical explanation to those of us who don’t quite understand the meaning of giving up your only son to save a bunch of sinners. Why would anyone do that? And worse: no matter what kind of crook you’ve been your whole life,  just accept such a travesty and you secured a spot in heaven. And I’m supposed to reason with that?????  Come on!!!

Question:

We just returned from two weeks Florida, the children and I.

Well, if you can read this, you too have not been raptured.