Retired & Thinking

Have you ever had a ‘bad’ week? Someone once said, “You can tell you’re going to have a bad week when a camera crew from 60-minutes is in the office on Monday and would like to ask you some questions.” Here are some other possible ways you can tell things are going to get hairy. The orthodontist says your kid needs braces and then asks if you think the blue or silver BMW is nicer. Your spouse gives you a ticket to Fiji for your anniversary, but there is only one, and it is one-way. Let me suggest that when God pours Himself into your life your week is going to more than terrific, it is going to be spectacular. That is precisely what happened on Pentecost in Jerusalem.   What Jesus had promised happened. They had waited, as Jesus told them, and the Paraclete, counselor, comforter, God’s advocate was present with them, upon them, and within them. Former Chaplain of the Senate and Pastor at Hollywood Pres., Lloyd Ogilvie wrote, “The greatest need in the church today is for cont

A great deal on engineering goes into creating a roadway. Planning, drawings, surveys, planning, GANT charts, and the rest. There is equipment work, bedding to compact roadway to lay with expansion joints, decisions about the camber of the road etc. It still can’t be safely driven on until the asphalt is laid and the markings, signs, lights, and the rest are in place. Let me suggest that Christ Jesus—firstborn from the dead—has built a wonderful way to venture home to where we belong. In His Ascension, Jesus gives us and His disciples some key information about our trip home. Until the Holy Spirit came there were no signs marking lanes, or where the shoulder runs off into the dirt. There was no signage for what was off the various exits, These safeguards and directional signs is the work of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus (Ac 16:7; Phi 1:19), as we seek to be obedient to the call of Christ. This is a great place to be this week because next Sunday is Pentecost so preachi

Thursday morning, unable to sleep, I flipped between the overnight news on CBS and ABC. Coronavirus was the major story with some very sobering statistics offered. Perhaps 40% unemployment for those making under $40K. Bright, the former top U.S. vaccine official, stated that the U.S. may face the “darkest winter in modern history” if there is not a coordinated response to this virus. President Trump’s dismissal of Dr. Fauci reluctance to reopen schools, “not an acceptable answer” seemed to bode ill for his tenure. Then there’s the specter of this recent “systemic inflammatory syndrome” that strikes children. With all of this, and various sized asteroids buzzing by Earth my thoughts went to Revelation and the return of Christ. I do not think that this pandemic marks the breaking of the fourth seal in Revelation 6:7. But, what I do know is that His return is closer today than it was yesterday, and tomorrow it will be closer still. I also know that God’s Word offers hope and certai

File this under ‘you learn something new every day’. Discovered a strange genetic anomaly called DTD. Developmental topographical disorientation occurs in people with no brain injury, lesions, or tumors and it causes them to be unable to form any sort of mental map. Mary recounts when she was 13 years old she was a few blocks from where she was dog-sitting a friends’ pet. She said, “I had no idea where I was, and my surroundings looked completely unfamiliar. It was as though I’d been dropped into the middle of a foreign land (McLaurine).” We’ve all heard stories about GPS messing up a trip. Sometimes they are funny but some end in tragedy and death. Do you recall back in 2007 the family “stuck in the snow for nine days with few supplies (Neelmann)” down in Southern Oregon. The father, James Kim tried to walk out and was found dead trying to get help. Finding one’s way is a serious endeavor. Unlike the other three gospels, John doesn’t share a lot of parables or pith

You are rightfully hearing about those on the front lines of this COVID-19. There is one group that is on the front line but hasn’t been as busy as usual and those are the men and women who work in ‘search and rescue’. There was some fisherman pulled off a boat by the Coast Guard in January (Fields) and they also pulled a couple and a dog off a boat, and three hikers found by Tillamook County who arrested two of them (Ryan). Each county has men and women volunteers trained to go out and find the lost. Washington County primary SAR team is Explorer Post 877 (Search and Rescue) and overall since 1993 the Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue “have responded to nearly 1,000 missions (PNW SAR). These are people you do not want to need but they are people who you desperately desire if you or someone you know is lost. We get lost Sheep are not totally helpless just almost totally helpless. They run away from a threat and then gather as a flock and stare at the threat. As a