Why Does Jesus Love Us?

One of my favorite things to do on a day off is to hang out with my beautiful daughter and her beautiful daughters.  We like to search for treasures at a thrift store, buy froo-froo coffees, and just cross some errands off our lists.  Often we meet Mike and Sam at the mall for lunch to top off our morning.

The mundane becomes FUN when together.

I especially love Cordelia's input.  She's such a smart little person and she freely shares her interesting opinions and insights!  She also asks many, MANY questions!

Awhile back I rode along with Maria and her little girls while Maria did a few errands.  When Maria went into one store, Cordelia and I were singing in the vehicle to entertain ourselves.  Elise chose not to join in but I think she was appreciative of our music.  We were singing "Jesus Loves Me" when Cordy stopped me to ask, "Why does Jesus love us?"  I think I said something awesome like, "I don't know, but he does."  Yes, when put on the spot, I came up a bit short with my theological explanations.  Hey!  Don't criticize me!  I'm an RN, Mike is the theologian!

Although Cordy quickly moved on (she's not yet three you know), I kind of pondered that question for awhile.  It's actually a very good question.  Why does he love us?  We're really such a mess most of the time.  We're selfish.  We hurt each other.  We lose sight of what is most important.  Yet, we're much loved in spite of all that.

So, how would you have answered Cordelia?

Our Peaceful Floating Picnic

Are any of you doing anything fun this holiday week-end?  Did you go out of town or have week-end guests?

We've been pretty low-key ourselves but we did get to go floating on the river again.  I packed lunch for us and we had a floating picnic!  Yes, it is a little awkward to eat lunch in an inner tube, but so worth it!  We did have to use the oars more and work pretty hard at times because it was gusty.  Mostly, though, we just relaxed while watching the peaceful scenery go by.  The best part?  Three hours of having Mike all to myself!

A Word From Pastor Mike: "For You - Forever"

I asked my pastor husband, Mike, if I could occasionally share one of his sermons on my blog.  I brought it up enough times, he finally supplied me with some of his notes.  The following is from his sermon notes from two weeks ago.  It will be helpful to know that it is based on John 6:51-58 so I will insert that passage.  Oh, and I probably should warn you that he slips his quirky sense of humor into his sermons...

     ***************************************************************************

John 6:51-58 (NRSV)

John 6:51-58

⁵¹I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” ⁵²The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” ⁵³So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; ⁵⁵for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. ⁵⁷Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. ⁵⁸This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

     *********************************************************************************************

Now, from Mike's notes...

For You - Forever

This past week we were in Minnesota.  We toured the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis.  It was the former home of Gold Medal Flour.  Across the Mississippi River you could see the Pillsbury Flour Factory.

(note from Sue:  Remember, I forewarned you about Mike's sense of humor! The underlines words indicate parts he delivered with a bit of a distinct emphasis.)

While I was there I came across this obituary:  Veteran Pillsbury Spokesman, Pop-N-Fresh, died yesterday of a yeast infection.  Dozens of celebrities turned out for the funeral.  Among those seen were Aunt Jemima, the California Raisins, Hungry Jack, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Skippy Peanut Butter.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy.  She said her friend "never realized how much he was kneaded."  (another note from Sue:  It's ok to groan.  I did.)  The church was piled high with flours (not a typo) from many friends.

Pop-N-Fresh rose quickly in show business but in his later life he had many turnovers.  He was not a very smart cookie as he wasted much of his dough on half-baked schemes.  Unfortunately many of his so called friends buttered him up for these failures.

Even though Pop-N-Fresh was a crusty old man, he was a roll model for millions.  Fresh is survived by his wife and two children  plus they have a bun in the oven.  The service was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

(pause to regroup before the serious stuff)

Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven."  In this reading Jesus seems to be all over the place.  Is he...

a) talking about communion?  "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life...abide in me and I in them" sure sounds like communion.

b) talking about the incarnation - God taking on flesh?  "I am the living bread that came down from heaven" sure sounds like that's true also.

c)  talking about his death for us?  "The bread that I give for the life of the world is my flesh."  That sure sounds like the cross to me.

This is the great thing about the Bible.  You can go into it as simply or as deeply as you want.  There is bread.  There is food for everyone.

What I was fascinated about in the text were the promises of eternal life.  

     (a) "Whoever eats this bread will live forever."  

     (b) "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life and I will raise them up on the
            last day."                  

     (c) "Whoever eats me will live because of me."
     (d) "The one who eats this bread will live forever."

These are promises for you about forever, about eternal life.  But what is eternal life?  When does it begin?  What does it look like?

Eternal Life

Sometimes it is helpful to describe something by saying what it is not...

A former professor of mine, Jim Nestingen, was in the newly formed country in South Sudan.  He told a story of what eternal life is not and what it is.  He told of a 10 year old girl.  Her older brother sold her to an older man who had lost his wife.  The brother needed money so he could be married.  Without getting too descriptive, we can safely say that this was not eternal life for a 10 year old girl.  As soon as she was old enough, she started having children.  Then, the old man died.  This meant that she would go up for sale as part of his estate.  She was bought by a church!  They redeemed her!  They set her free!  Eternal life started for her and she is now the pastor of the very congregation that set her free.  Jim Nestingen said there was so much joy on her lips that you couldn't help but get caught up in the dance of it!

It's interesting that in our gospel text today Jesus announces that he is the living bread come down from heaven and that whoever eats of this bread will live.  The response...grumbling.  How can this man do this?  Sometimes we make the Christian Faith too complicated or we get distracted.  Jesus puts it this way, the one who believes has eternal life.  What must we do to be saved?  Believe in the one who the Father sent.

This last week I got to listen to African Lutherans tell their story.  I got to see a Sudanese man be commissioned to go back to his country, where there is barely a government, few hospitals, school or churches and yet the church grows - and I wondered why.

And I think the reason is they have completely sold themselves out to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the love of God.

They aren't really concerned about the American dream, getting their kids to soccer games, or water skiing competitions.  Maybe extreme poverty keeps people dependent on God and thankful, even glad, for the few things they do have.

The good news is that God isn't really concerned about boundaries.  It isn't a Christian competition between continents - God loves sinners wherever they may be.

The Father sent the Son to be the Living Bread for all people - the one who feeds on this living bread has eternal life.  We feed on Jesus in daily prayer, weekly worship and reading the Bible daily.

When you come to communion you hear the words, "Body of Christ given for you" and "Blood of Christ shed for you."  It is a promise - for you - it's the living Christ within you.  It is eternal life for you.  Begin selling yourself out completely to God and enter the joy of eternal life.

Grandma, I saw a Ghost!

Cordelia, like most children, gets to occasionally watch cartoons.  I expect that is how she heard of ghosts.   Wherever she heard of ghosts, she  became a bit fascinated with the idea of them.   When a person is two-almost-three years old, fantasy and reality really blur together often so it isn't surprising that Cordelia is sometimes pretty sure there are ghosts around.

One Sunday, after church service, we were all standing around in our church while we visited with each other.  Cordelia was pretty wound up and was dancing and running around, having a happy time.  All of a sudden she ran up to me and declared, "Grandma, I saw a Ghost!"  THIS time I was quite pleased with myself for my prompt response.  I told her maybe it was the Holy Ghost!

After thinking about it awhile, Cordy asked me what she should say to the Holy Ghost if she saw him again.  I told her she should say, "Hi!"  OK, that may have been weird but I assured her the Holy Ghost is kind and good and watched out for her.  She then asked me what she should call him.  I suggested, "Holy".  That wasn't very creative I guess.

We don't talk about the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit is my preference) much.  We are told that the Holy Spirit is given to us as our helper while we are still here on Earth.  I wonder why we don't remember to seek help and comfort more often from the Holy Spirit.  Do you think of the Holy Spirit much?

Drama in the Neighborhood

Last night we had a little excitement in the neighborhood.  Mike was in at the church but Sam and I were home.  First, I thought I heard some hollering outside but saw nothing.  I muted the television but all was quiet.  The next thing Sam and I heard were far-off sirens.  Right then I had a strong feeling that those sirens were headed our way.  I was right!  The sirens stopped right next door.

It turns out that our neighbors had a small fire in their front yard.  They weren't home and we do not yet know why there was a fire.  It was really just a matter of  feet from our cars and our house. A row of dry trees line up between our house and their's.  It is great for privacy but certainly would have made powerful fuel.   Have I mentioned that Wyoming is in a drought?  It has been really, really dry around here.

The fire did not amount to much I guess.  It was out before I saw it.  The reason is this, a passing motorist took the time to care.  He or she saw it and called out for help (explaining the hollering I thought I heard).  The neighbor on the other side helped put out the fire before it became a big deal.  

I'm so very grateful to people who see a problem and do what they can to help.   I know there are people who would have just driven by, expecting someone else to handle the problem.   I don't know the name of the person alerting to the fire, but we are very appreciative.  I'm happy to be reporting just minor drama, nothing more.

I also want to give a shout out to all emergency services folks.  They walk into a lot of unknown situations on our behalf.  I am pretty sure we don't thank them enough.  If any of my readers are among our protectors, know that we are grateful!

Pretending to Be My Age

When I was younger I knew, of course, that there were people of all different ages.  What I didn't understand, though, was that a lot of those people didn't really feel like they belonged in the age category to which they found themselves assigned.

Am I making sense?

Well, here's the thing.  I know in my head that I am now in the middle-aged category.  To be honest, I've been in that category for awhile now.  How did that happen?  You see, I still think of myself as a young mother.  I feel I should be about 32 or so.  I feel like I kind of got mentally or emotionally stuck there.  I feel comfortable there.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not really complaining about being in my 50's.  It's just that I feel like I'm only pretending to be in my 50's, like I'm wearing a costume or something, but inside I'm still 32.  It feels kind of weird to know that people I meet don't realize that.

This happened to me when I was 14 as well.  Someone asked me how old I was and I blurted out that I was 12.  I was horrified at my mistake.  What 14 year old wants to be 12?  Well, I think I liked being 12.  I felt comfortable being 12 for several years.

I was thinking about all this and remembered something I read a long time ago.  I read that inside every person is that person from every age they'd ever been.  That is, even a middle-aged person still has inside of them the memory of who they were at a younger age and really, they are that person still.  It's kind of true, don't you think?

Next time I look at an elderly person I'm going to be wondering if deep down they feel like an imposter.  Maybe they feel like they are 25 and just pretending to be old since they are stuck wearing an old costume.  Something to think about, right?

Mike and Me in Our Early 30's

A Father and a Daughter

I was looking through some of the photos I 

took from the recent gathering of relatives.  

I loved these photos of our 

brother-in-law, Joe, enjoying some 

father-daughter time with our niece, Erin.  

 What do you think they were discussing?
I really did't hear but, knowing Joe,
I'm guessing he was telling a corny joke.
Maybe he was giving her insightful advice?
It doesn't matter.
It was just sweet to see them enjoying
each other's company.

 Like I said, I just love these photos.

The Party Ends

Well, I guess all good things must come to an end.  Yesterday the last of our guests left town.  The house is really quiet!

Before we took Mike's Mom to the airport  Mike and I were commenting on how proud we are of her.  It took some gumption to fly here on her own!  There's no direct flight, of course, from her town in Montana to our's in Wyoming, so she flew through Denver. She bravely faced the layovers, the crowds, luggage, flight changes, etc. to be here with her family.

Carol also calmly accepted the change of motel after the first one had a hostage/drug/suicide incident.  She smiled and complimented all our meals, experiencing a lot of new vegan foods.  She spent a LOT of time playing with an almost-3-yr-old, which required a lot of energy.  She rocked and patted a baby even when fussy.  She made everyone feel special and loved.

We're so glad she did all this as it would not have been the same without her.  I hated sending her off alone again.  It made me sad to see her disappear through the security area but she looked satisfied and confident.  Thanks for coming, Carol!

A Party for Elise

Saturday evening the family gathering continued at our house.  You'll be surprised (not) to know that I took a lot of photos!  Lucky for you all, many of them were blurry or otherwise flawed.

Elise and Maria
(I love this photo!)

Our son, Sam, and our son-in-law, Eric

Elise with her great uncle, Joe

Great Aunt Sue had her turn as well.

A lot of visiting, game-playing and eating took place.

Sunday was Elise's baptism.  Wearing a family gown that is 117 years old, Elise looked beautiful.  To read more about that gown, please click here.  Our daughter, Maria, already wrote up a nice post about it.  The gown was made by Elise's great-great-great grandmother!

It was fun to have so much family together at a church service.

Cordy

Me with Elise

Karen, Mike, Carol, Sue

(Mike with his mother and sisters)

Elise and her parents

After church we enjoyed a lovely meal at Maria and Eric's home.

Erin (our niece) with Maria

My handsome husband, Mike

Cordy giving Grandma Carol a Hug

 Elise 

  Our son-in-law, Eric, visiting with our brother-in-law, Gregg, and Mike's sister, Karen.

Some of the family had to leave yesterday afternoon 

but the rest of us gathered at our home last night.

Grandma Carol with Elise

Yes, we do know how absolutely blessed we are to have so much family supporting and loving us!

I Have Called You By Name

  “Do not be afraid, for I have 

ransomed you.

      I have called you by name; you 

are mine." 

Isiah 43:1

Fun With the Rellys

We've been soooooo busy the last few days, but it's busy in a good way.  We've been visiting with relatives, going on picnics and just having a good time.  Here, let me show you...

This first picture is Mike and Cordelia crossing the river in a covered wagon.

OR, it may be a replica set up at an interpretive center.

The interpretative center had fun things for Cordelia to enjoy.

She kept taking the pieces of the kid displays and putting them in better order.

She prefers her cows and things to be in lines or rows, rather than just milling about.

Eric had the day off and was able to picnic and play with us as well.

You won't believe this but this is one of Mike's sisters...Elise's great-aunt, Sue. 

She looks the same as when I met her about 37 years ago!

How does that work?

Cordelia was like an energizer bunny, running and playing.

She's pretty outgoing. 

At the park she saw some older girls

and chased after them saying,

"Hi!  It's me, Cordelia!"

Eventually, though, I think we wore  her out!

She told me she was just going to sleep right there on the bridge.

We don't have all our family here this week but we've got a 

good-sized group, representing multiple states.  

We're so grateful for family!

Happy Birthday, Sara!

Any of you who have adult children will know that what I am about to say is absolute truth...  It is a true joy when you know your child has married someone who loves and appreciates them.  I'm talking about my daughter-in-law, Sara.

(photo lifted from Sara's Facebook page... is that wrong?)

Sara is kind and supportive of Ben.  Sara has a beautiful smile and a musical laugh, which she shares easily and often, especially at Ben's jokes.  I hate being far away from Ben, but it is a great comfort for me knowing that he has Sara.  

This pretty girl with the bouncy curls is also smart and accomplished in her own right.  It will be exciting to see where her ambitions take her!  She's inquisitive and loves exploring new avenues of thought.  

We are celebrating Sara's birthday, so happy that she is a part of our family!  

RU Ready 4 This?

Mike's Mom is visiting us and she arrived with a request.  She'd purchased a new cell phone with a QWERTY Keyboard because she wanted to join the world of texting.  I think that's pretty cool!  Her children and grandchildren are texting and so she wants to join the conversation.  I'm proud of her!

(Sam, teaching Grandma Carol how to text.)

Kindness Bandit Fun

Like I posted yesterday, I was able to join Maria on one of her Kindness Bandit Projects.  If you want to know more about the Kindness Bandit check out THIS or THIS or maybe THIS.  You may get some new ideas of your own to do as random acts of kindness.

Nearly three years ago, when Maria had Cordelia, we learned that in our community there are a lot of people who arrive to deliver and have very little to provide for their little ones.  We looked at all the little outfits and such for Cordelia and got the idea of sharing the joy.  Maria remembered it as my idea but I'm pretty sure it was her's.  At any rate, all we did was buy up some baby stuff, package it and take it to the nurses in the OB Dept. to distribute at will.

We thought it would not only be a nice surprise for the parents but that the nurses would enjoy being the bearers of gifts.  I don't know if you realize this but often nurses are the bearers of yucky things, such as needles and enemas.  This would be a nice change, trust me.

So, now that Elise is safely here, we wanted to do the same.  We actually started buying up things when Maria was pregnant.  We just watched for clearance items.  We found some amazing buys!  For example, we purchased a bunch of snowsuits, originally about $20, for just $3!  Additionally, Maria crocheted up a bunch of sweet little baby hats.  I sure have a sweet daughter, don't I?

We divided it up into gift bags, encouraging Cordelia to join in the fun.  Maria took some photos which you can view HERE.

She seemed pretty concerned at first.  She really needed a lot of reassurance that we still had lots of baby clothes for Elise.  We liked that she was watching out for her little sister.  I think she did understand we were trying to do something nice, but I think it was hard for her to understand about people in need.

So, we loaded up the gifts...

...loaded up the sisters (notice Cordelia's fashion statement in bracelets) ...

...and made our delivery.  It just took a few minutes but it was fun for us and hopefully helped Cordelia learn about helping others.

Not long after our trip to drop off our gifts at the hospital, I had to stop at the store for some things.  What do you know?  They had more baby items on clearance and I have no self-control!  I guess we're going to have to do this again!

For the record, I also purchased two matching sister dresses for Cordelia and Elise that may fit them in a year or so.  I love clearance racks!

An Intersting Day in Our Town

Yesterday was an interesting day!  The weather was weird all day.  It seemed like it might rain but really I think the overcast feeling was mostly smoke from some distance fire.   We had periods of sunshine as well, so it was plenty warm.

Maria and I and the grandbabies went out and about on errands.  I got to be involved with one of her Kindness Bandit runs.  Maria has been doing Kindness Bandit Projects for years now.  She is very creative thinking up ways to improve someone else's life in some little way.  I will be telling you more about what we did yesterday but for now, click HERE to read about one of her previous Kindness Bandit Projects.

One our return trip from our little adventure, driving through town, we saw these beauties.

Don't they look sweet?  We didn't bother them much.  They are so used to people they felt very comfortable in our presence.  In fact, I couldn't use all the photos I took because they felt comfortable enough to poop and potty while I was snapping their photos.

I love that we live in a place where deer and antelope play...

or at least munch peacefully on a lawn, as long as it isn't mine.

Not long after leaving this peaceful scene we learned that there was a hostage situation occurring near our homes.  This is not a big city so something like that is pretty surprising.  The situation was at a nearby Super 8.  Click HERE if you want to read about that.  The photos below were taken for the Casper Star Tribune by Alan Rogers.

We have lots of company coming to town, beginning today, and we have reservations there for some of our relatives.  I'm really glad they weren't there yet!  Thankfully, it sounds like the situation was well-handled by our local protectors.  I don't know much about it all but I believe all the hostages survived.

It was also voting day in Wyoming.  Mike and I did our good citizen thing and looked through a bunch of voting propaganda information.  My favorite thing about voting is coming home and finally throwing away all those mailings!  OK, my favorite thing is really simply that I have the right to vote.  I do love throwing out that stuff, though!

So, that was my Tuesday.

What did you do?