Is this Christmas?

I'm hot. I'm glad that I decided to check the weather before going to church. I was about to put on my suit then I checked and its a cool 77 degrees. I opted for the khakis and a short sleeved shirt. I think I might wear sandals to church. I'm not sure yet. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas.

Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin

So I opened my mail box today and found a magazine inside. It was an issue of Flying. I'm a little confused. As much as I'd like to know the "top 10 expert IFR safty tips" just in case I was sitting in coach and the stewardess screams out, "does anyone know how to fly a plane?" I wonder why I would need to know them know since I do not fly. This magazine showed up with my name printed on in, a lot of info blacked out, and my address on a sticker over it. I checked the site. Subscriptions cost money. There is a price of $4.99 on the cover. How did this come to my house???? It's a Mystery!

On another note, I went shopping today and realized that I have a sentiment of entitlement. The bill came to 71 bucks and I thought, "this is ridiculous!" I know food costs money. I know I bought more than usual. Yet, I still felt as If it were owed to me that I get all the food I want at a good price. I know i shouldn't feel entitled to good cheap food. I should just feel lucky that safe food is readily available and that I can afford to purchase it. It is strange how when we regularly receive something, we start to think it is owed us, when in reality, nothing really is.

You strange to us that's when we gettin dangerous!

So first off, yes, I took the above picture this very day. So if you were planning to visit me this year, you will not be able to feed or molest the gators.

That said, I've been livin' pretty dangerous lately. I am not sure why, but I've done some pretty stupid out-of-the-ordinary things. The first was that I had an egg thrown on my car on Halloween. I knew it was going to ruin my paint, yet I did nothing for three weeks. Yup my paint was ruined. Second, my car suddenly started making jubbly noises. I turned off the car and went and immediately checked the oil. The dipstick didn't have any oil on it except some pasty tary stuff on the bottom. Yup I knew it was a problem. It had been about 9000 miles since the last oil change, but I just couldn't bring myself to get an oil change, knowing full well it could ruin my car.

Luckily, after the oil change and some wonderful special additives, my car is now running normal. I just realize that my back pain must be really brining me down if I can't even take care of basic things. Now my back actually feels a lot better than it has in years. I think it might be the business of the schedule as well. I love my life right now and can only think of a couple ways in which it could be better. I just wish I knew what is off so much that I would do such stupid things.

Japeenees

Happy Thanksgiving

This is my Thanksgiving day sermon that I gave this morning. I just wanted to say that I love you all and am so thankful that you are my friends.

"Bonedigger bonedigger, Dogs in the moonlight"

So, I've noticed the last few weeks that there is a new addition to the neighborhood, at least I think it is a new addition. I'm not really sure. Just as of late, I have heard a whole heck of a lot of dog-speak going on. This dog lives on the other side of the tall fence in my back yard. I haven't seen this mystery dog yet, but I am thinking about standing on a chair to take a look at my dog.

Yes, its true. I said it. I believe this animal on the other side of the fence belongs to me. Why, you might ask. Well, I think this dog is mine because he truly acts as if I were his. Let me tell you why I am getting this impression. 1) When I leave the house, the dog always starts to bark. (The dog lives behind my house! I exit from the front!) 2) When I come home and shut the door, the dog welcomes me back with barks of joy! 3) Doing random things in my house like shutting doors, playing music, talking on the phone all evoke a reaction from this animal(my dog).

So, I assume that he must be mine and I just have been neglecting to take him out of my neighbor's back yard. Furthermore, I have left him in the neighbors yard for such a great amount of time that I have forgotten when I bought him, or what he even looks like. Yet, I know that he is mine, because he reminds me of it every day!

Sermon anyone?

Well, this was the second sermon that I have preached here at Christ the King. We record the service every week and post the sermons on the internet. I tried to get a copy of the contemporary service, because it felt so much more natural to me. Unfortunately, our camera men are not nearly skilled enough to be able to follow me while I walk around the entire church. I swear, I would have moved less if I were on a long coffee table talking about Lions and Superman. Since this is the only copy that I have, you'll have to just watch me speak from the pulpit and, you know, look all pastor-like....I know, hard to believe.

Tedlar the Feather Foot.....I'm hoping

I've been putting it off for years now. Four years ago, when I reinjured my back, my D.O. said that I would have back problems all my life if I didn't get some custom made orthotics for $360.00. Being the man who owned my body, and not the man with 12 years of medical school, I decided that I didn't need such a product. It was an easy dicison since I was broke beyond belief,the orthotics were too expensive, and they cheap Sixty dollar ones didn't seem to want to fit in my new shoes anyway.

I am still having problems. While my back has gotten better overall, it still gives me pain every day. In the last couple years, I have also had such bad problems with my leg muscles that I've had a couple guys suggest the orthotics again. I am just sick of not being able to exercise my lower body and not being able to walk or stand for too long. Today I finally decided that I had the money and the incentive to spend an entire paycheck on something I'll be standing on all day. The only thing that stinks, well besides the price ($480.00), is that I'll probably have to get new shoes as well. I just bought new Nikes 3 months ago, but it seems as if the orthotics won't fit in them. Oh well, it will all be worth it if I can move like a used to.

Raise the Roof

I love my Jorb. This is the second concert that I have gone to in the last month and a half, and it was FREE! I got to see Kutless, the Newsboys, and some new jamband called Newworldson. The picture above is from the Newsboys. It was pretty sweet. They had two giant bubble jets that filled the air with bubbles. It was awesome. The picture above doesn't do it justice. All the lights were reflecting through changing all sortsa colors. It was cool.

So yesterday the Firemen came to our preschool for fire safety week. When I heard about it last week, I jokingly said I wanted to ride the firetruck. So Yesterday, the preschool director, the janitor, and the assistant pastor all pulled me out of my office and convinced me to go check things out. So on my way over there, I spotted a larger lizard and snagged him on the way. So I walk up to these firemen and preschool kids in my nice dress clothes gripping a lizard that is going absolutely nuts. He was bitting at the air and waving his arms around. He looked like kermit the frog when he says "Yay" and looks all excited. So the firemen, were like, "um, so you've got a Lizard, huh?" It was cool. I let him go after I showed him to the kids.

So later that night, I was walking next to this building and a little lizard was on the wall. He did this crazy back flip, matrix style, and landed right under my path, moments before I stepped down. The little bugger killed himself. I wasn't too happy about it. I like my lizard folk. Why in the world would he jump right in front of my foot? I decided that it was equivalent to stepping in front of a dump truck. I just wonder what would cause a lizard to just want to end it all.

Rock the Universe

Yesterday, I took 19 kids over to Orlando to go to Universal Studios. An event called Rock The Universe was going on. It was awesome. I got to see two of my favorite Christian artists, Tobymac and Jeremy Camp. It was cool. Both rocked the place. It was great to get out of town and chill with some really cool people. Both are the type of men I aspire to be like.

Tobymac is all about diversity, about come as you are before God. He welcomes you where you're at. He said we can build the most impressive buildings, wear the best clothes, talk the best "Christian" talk, and appear successful, but it means nothing. People will only listen if we live a life of Christ's love. This is where I'm at. I want to live a life of love. I want to meet people where they are at and show them the love of Christ. I want to show them that he loves them no matter where they are from, where they are at, or what they have done. I want to show them how He changed me.

I try to walk by faith. I try to live my faith. I've given up so much to be here. Many don't understand it. Many think it is foolish. There are times when people try to pull me away from this, and convince me to change my path. I hope someday they can see why I must walk this road. Christ's love compels me. It compels me because this country has missed the message. You don't have to be holy and perfect to come to Him. You can't be! No one can. The church is for those who realize they are lost, not those who think they are perfect. The church is church is for Christ and his mission to call all people to him. It isn't some exclusive club that is focused on itself.

I'm still waiting for the "sweet"

First they are sour, then they are sweet. That is what the commercials say. We'll, I'm still waiting for the "sweet" I went to go see the Borne Supremacy the other night. I got tempted to buy a bag of sour patch kids, and...well...I did. This used to be no problem at all. I used to eat these guys all the time. Nothing ever happened except an occasional raw tung. Well, in recent years my body has decided that sour patch kids were poison. Yup, thats right. It was all fun and tasty eating these guys. Now I have a rock baby gestating in my kidneys. Yeah, I know. I brought it on myself. I tried to drink tons of water to see if I could keep it from happening, but no luck.

Florida

So its been about two and a half weeks since I arived down in flordia. Things are pretty good down here. My church is awsome. The people are awsome. I'm pretty sure the job is awsome, though I still haven't hit full stride yet. Things are overall pretty good. There are little lizards everywhere. There are probably at least 15 right out side my window right now. I think they are what I like most about Florida. They are always just chillin or dancin. Either way, very cool.

I am still getting settled in here. I haven't unpacked all of my stuff yet. I still have boxes sitting in my living room. I have been to the beach only once, and that was at dusk. I think I want to work on my tan a bit before blinding all them beach goers. I still haven't gotten the internets hooked up yet at my house. So I haven't really been on lately. Besides that, there isn't all that much new. It is difficult being away from eveyone I know and care about. But, there are a lot of good people down here and a new assistant pastor that I sorta knew from the Sem. So, I have been doing some things around town. Mostly, I am too tired or busy to be down from all the things lost. At least thats what I try to do. Overall though, things are exciting and good.

These look like fun

Rejected Wii play games.

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one week....

Well, It's one week away. Next Monday I leave for vicarage. It is hard to believe that I have only one more week here with Marcy. It is sometimes hard to just have fun with her because we both know our time is short. There is a tendency to focus on the sadness of the looming separation. Knowing what is coming though, I think we are doing an excellent job at enjoying the time we have left.

It is kinda funny. I have spent the last couple years wishing I was some place other than St. Louis. Now for the first time, St. Louis feels like home. When I dropped Marcy off last night, I came back to my dorm and it felt so empty without her. It is going to be very difficult to leave her behind.

I am trying to look forward though. I'm not doing a very good job, but I am trying. It helps that I have been talking to the people at the church where I'll be serving. I have to act excited when I talk to them. I also know that I would be excited if the situation were different. I know I'll learn a lot. I know I'll grow a lot. I know that I will become a better man for it. I just have to look forward to that, and look forward to returning to my love.

Call me Natalie Imbruglia

For all those in town, I'll be back on Sunday night. I'll be home for about a week.

With that said....I'm torn. It feels like the jaws of life just opened my chest and I'm just waiting for someone to rescue my heart from this car wreck of a life I've got. Why can't anything be easy? Why is there always a struggle? When does the hurting stop? Someone once said that if something is not hard to attain that it isn't worth having. Maybe he was right, but I wish the things worth having, in my life, came at a slightly lower cost.

The above metaphor isn't perfect. I know where I want to be and I know where I feel I have to be. In a little over three weeks I'll be moving to Florida. I thought this would be a struggle when I first was assigned the position. Now....It seems impossible. I've wanted so much to be here, to being a vicar and getting a real taste of what it is like to be a pastor. Now I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I can leave the girl I love.

This really hit me tonight as I realized how quickly we are running out of opportunities to see each other before Sunday. It made the reality of Florida much more real. Marcy is perfect, perfect for me in every way. She is the sunshine in my life and gives me the greatest of joy. She is even going to wait for me when I'm away on vicarage. This is great, real great. I've finally found her. I just don't know how I can live without her now.

I think this is going to be one of the most difficult years of my life. I fear I might be so sad that my vicarage would be pointless. I fear I might not even make it there, that I might drive half way to Florida and turn around. I fear I might not be cut out to be a pastor after all. I fear I might be good at it. I fear I might loose her. I struggle. I'm torn.

I trust in God's purpose and his timing in all of this. Everything will probably work out fine. I just struggle with my capabilities. I struggle with decisions I feel I have to make and decisions that I want to make. I just struggle with a loneliness that threatens to reclaim and a purpose that threatens to elude.

Praire Dog

Drama Chipmunk

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Happy Da!

There I was, pretty happy with my life. Every thing was going pretty well. Then I met Marcy. Now I'm miserable, miserable every time I'm away from her, that is. hehehe. Things are going real well. I've never clicked with someone this well before. She is everything I've looked for in a woman and I'm completely in love.

So I haven't really posted much because I have been spending so much time with her. Mind you, I probably was due a month long dry spell in posting anyway. I mean.... that's just what I do. I'm going to try to post more. If I slack, Neil will feel even more justified in not posting.

I'm a believer!

The first weekend I was in STL, a group of us were going to go in on a pizza. In the midst of deciding what we were going to get, someone spoke up and said, "Whatever you do, don't get Imo's! That shit's nasty!" Everyone else who had lived in STL more than a few days concurred. I have never once heard a good word spoke of Imo's pizza since that day.

Well the other day, my girlfriend's* parents invited me over to eat. Specifically it was Marcy's plan to get me to try the much resisted Imo's. Well it worked. I can't turn down a good girl, I can't turn down her parents, and I definitely can't turn down a free pizza.

I must say, Imo's is good, pretty darn good. It has a wonderful thin crust that I like. Most non-St. Louians don't like the "Tangy Provel Cheese." Yet, I kinda liked it. In fact, I couldn't stop eating. So if you happen to come to STL. Give Imo's a try. To use a Dave critiquing method,
IMO's: Eat It!


*If you are wondering who this mysterious girl is, she is amazing. I'll post about her soon.

Festival

I feel kinda Bad. This is the first Festival that I have not gone all 3 days, or at least all day on two days. What has become of me? What has become of us? I was able to make it for a few hours last night. It was good. I went down with Jeremy and Travis. Neil almost made it down there. By the time he was ready, I was already tucked out. He was a sad sad Neil. Hopefully, we'll be able to make it down there next year. The Souvlaki is still calling me.

Don't question a man's decisions in May

Watch this:


Now watch this:

Mustachio

So I was over at Shedu's last night and we were looking at the crazy happanins on Crazy Mom's blog. For some reason, I brought up how I rarely look at Dan's blog. Sure, he doesn't post that much. Yet, that doesn't stop me from checking out Matt's blog. I came to the realization that I don't check it much because it is a dead end.

I daily travel down a number of blog paths. Sometimes I start with Crazy Mom, sometimes 64 Tacos. Regardless, there is always a path. With Dansy, I get there, read what is written, or what is not, and then I go to the right side of the screen. What no exit? Dead end! (when I told Neil about this, he said: "Dan is the end of the Internet.") I don't know why this bothers me. I could just hit the "back" button, but that would be like a u-turn. I'd be passing things I just looked at. I could just type in a new web address, but I don't like being on the webs if I have to actually type. I'd rather click my way through it all. So, if you ever wonder why I comment on your blog long after your post date, this is why.

DOG!

So you are probably wondering why there is a picture of me, making a crazy face, alls the while sporting a shinny nose. Well, remember that movie, unbreakable, where a handful of people found out that they have superpower? I figured mine out. I was in the gym today, you know, pumpin' Iron. I decided to do some incline bench press. I was finishing my last rep and put the bar up on the rack, or so I thought. The bar was resting on the corner if the guard and when I let go, 130 lbs came crashing down on my face. I managed to actually move my hand quick enough to get under it and help break the blow, but the bar hit me square in the nose.

It was a little sore and felt warm, but I felt it and there was little pain, no blood, and no broken bones. My nose is impervious to crushing and cleaving. Now I must decide if I should use this power for good, or evil. Oh yeah, in the picture, I am practicing my "don't mess with this nose" face, for when I become a superhero

Its like a time capsule and shit

I am amazed at how long people will leave crap up on the internets, and I mean all of them. It can't be free to keep something this long, can it? If it has been free, why hasn't it been deleted. I mean, don't they see that no body visits some of these old site? There are only two explinations. 1) Zooty.Tripod.com has a cult following in India, or 2) Kato is paying for it, waiting for me to become a pastor before disseminating pictures of Tarty T-bone to my congregation. Either way, It is good to remember the good old days, when I was Black.

Nipon ku ku

So I did a whole buch of reseach in the library this morning. Yet, when I reached for my binder with all my work for this project, as well as everything else I am working on, it wasn't there. I went around campus a few times looking for it. I remebered leaving the library with it but it wasn't in my room. I started thinking aliens, but I found my missing copycard in the library and started thinking like my stupidity think. "If I was Ted's stupidness, where would I set all the important things in life? Ah, the free book pile in the mail room." There it was. I am supprized I didn't leave my wallet there for everyone as well.

In the middle of this, I was talking to this girl on the internets. She is Christian, beautiful, and she contacted me. We were hitting it off pretty well, and talking about the music we like. She mentions an artist I do a seach for him and can't find it. I then type: "I am looking for his music all over the internets, and I mean all of them, and I can't find anything." A normal person just would have erased the s in internets and not add anything. I of course had to bring in humor from our group. I might as well have showed up on a date with a mustach...

Nelduik Bloodeye

It's true

Hairytale

Toothbrushing by aweekofkindness.com

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I shedu ever looses his job, I know what he can do

Another Step

It is hard to believe that I have been down here for two years already. I have three weeks to go until this quarter is over. Last night we had our Vicarage assignment service. In a meeting a couple months ago, I asked to go to St. Paul, Mn. Then Dr. Neilson asked me If i wouldn't mind going closer to home. I figured I was going to Detroit or Chicago. Right before the Call Service, Neilson told me my supervisor was going to be here. So, I naturally thought I would be going to Chicago, because every other place would be too far to drive from. The whole service I am thinking how cool it is going to be to live in Chicago. Then as they get to the end of the alphabet, I stand up, move to the front, and await my assignment. Then I hear my name: "Georgia-Florida district..." I was so stunned I just moved up, shook hands, and smiled at people. President Meyer asked where I was going and I couldn't tell him. I am going to Largo, Florida, right outside of Tampa. It should be real cool.

Shades

This was fun. I have been messing around with a free image software called gimp. Its pretty cool. It can do most of the stuff that Adobe Photoshop can as well as many of the tools of illustrator. It is still taking me a while to learn all of the tools, but I am happy with what I can do right now. Either way, it is fun to mess around with this stuff again.

Jakos Grandrock

Jakos Grandrock is one Bane's most trusted Generals. He is the Dragon Rider and was responsible for the destruction of the Nexus League's mountain base north of Meldui. He killed the great Elvin archer, El Cinder, and has since been Yhhric's arch nemesis.

The Soulless

I must also say, Good job, Shedu! Check this out, Pete.

Finrax, king of Zerintoc

Rifftrax

Ever wonder what happened to the guys from MST3k? Well, Mike Neilson and Kevin Murphy(the mad doctor) now run this website. They sell MP3 "riffs" that you can run simultaniously with your favorate movie. Sure, you don't have the nice silouettes of Mike and the robots, but still. I think I will need to watch the LOTR or starwars

Addressing a post from some time ago

You know, I have been really wanting to respond to this post for a very long time. However, since you address so many things, I never knew where to start. Since I have a test tomorrow and I do not yet know the material at 1 in the morning, I figured now would be a good time to respond.

I guess I would say that I do indeed feel God in my life, at least much of the time. Though sometimes he feels very far off, almost absent, other times I feel Him next to me and in this I am more certain than anything else in my life.

I know you mentioned the "euphoria" as being the catalyst of your religious experience. If I understand you right, you believe that you were somehow tricked into feeling this way, in believing something that wasn't there. While much religious music and architecture it meant to affect the person, it is never meant to deceive them. Generally it is supposed to inform the worshiper/visitor that they are in a special place, a place set aside(holy)for God. In essence, it is supposed to quite all the distractions in your mind so that you can reflect on the holiness of God.

I do not know about the alter call stuff and all that entails, since I am Lutheran and we do not do that sort of thing.

I would like to address your post-experience reaction. You discount your experience because in the aftermath, the joy or emotion or whatnot faded as time goes on leaving you feeling mislead. I want to ask you a question: what indeed did you do to foster the faith that was apparently started at those times?

Many people will have a fervor for faith in God but then they do nothing with the gift that they were given. If you do not believe in double predestination and if you believe that you have free will, that means that you have to do something to seek God. He is not always going to be in your face. He is not always going to make things great for you, because he wants you to seek Him. He is not going to radically change the way you think because he values your free will. If you want to know Him and if you want Him to change you, you need to hear what He has to say. You need to stay in his word, seek his guidance, and pray for his spirit.

Some people say they don't need someone else telling them how to view and understand God. What arrogance! Didn't you need someone to tell you how to understand science, math, the English language? No one would say,"I don't need someone else to tell me what happened in the past. I can know it on my own without archaeological, eyewitness, and historical information." That would be ridiculous. The same goes with God. You can have a vague idea of what God is by observing nature, but this is but a shadow. You can't truly know God unless he reveals himself to you. He does this through his Son, Christ Jesus. And we read what his Son had to say and, most importantly, what he did, in scriptures.

You say you wonder why you why God hasn't touched your life. Well, I gather from what your wrote here and our conversations in the past that He has. Yet the question remains, what did you do in response?

I will respond to one more thing. Many of you have blamed Christians for acting in various ways and not always acting as they should. I must stress, Christians are sinful people like everyone else. Some do not have good instruction and believe they are better than others, but this simply is not the case. Christians are not perfect, and they never will be in this life time. That is the whole point. That is the whole reason Christ came. Anyone that claims he is perfect, or even a good person by God's standards, is fooling himself. Christ died for us because we are slaves to our sin and are, by our sinful natures, enemies of God. Yet while we were still in our sins, Christ died for us. In your baptism, you are brought into this new covenant with Christ. This is our central message. This is what we proclaim. Don't let "Christians" get in the way of your relationship with Christ.

Long post. I'll stop now. As always, no offence taken from yours or any other's views. I welcome and comments of reflections.

Krowen, son of Derkus

Here is what Shadow looked like when he was young

Today

The night before Shadow died I was trying out a new photo program. As I was speaking to my mom about what they were going to do with Shadow, I pulled up his picture. Here we were talking about this old dog, diseased and in so much pain. We spoke of how we had no choice other than to let him suffer or to put him down. Throughout all this convincing ourselves of his sorry state and his need for his suffering to end, I was looking at Shadow's portrait. I began to imagine him young again. Soon I found myself erasing the signs of age. I darkened his fur, returned the shine to his coat, and erased the pain from his eyes. It all felt so surreal. He was old and at the very end of his life, yet here I was trying to make him new again.

Tonight in church, this experience came back to me. I realized that what I was trying to do with Shadow, was what Christ actually did for us on Good Friday, what he began that day on the cross. I heard His words, "Behold, I make all things new."(Rev 21.5) On that cross, He began to wipe away all of our signs of age. He started to smooth out our wrinkles. He began to take away our pain. Yet He didn't just do this on the surface. In fact, he didn't even start there. He began at the source, our souls.

He began to make you new that day. He died on the cross for you, so that age, disease, and death might not claim you and hold you forever. He died so that He might give you life. So today, don't trust in yourself. Don't fool yourself into thinking you hold back the inevitable. No matter how how hard you try, you will grow old and you will die. There is nothing you can do to hold these things back. Trust in Christ. Only He can make you new.

Good Bye, My Old Friend

Shadow

1994-2007

Izzimeth sketch

Let me know what can be changed, Shedu. I am working on a more finished and more dynamic picture, but want to know I am drawing him right before hand.

How Precious

Thanks to Shedu for putting these up

Derkus

I don't know how this happened, but I know God's involved.

You Are 64% Gentleman

You are definitely a gentleman. You're very considerate and you have excellent manners. Occasionally, you slip and do something foolish... but usually no one notices!

Are You A Gentleman?

Great pictures

These are the best pictures ever

Dogimed

And Yhhric, don't die!

Softball

Today was a good day. I decided that I was going to play softball the year no matter how I felt and so far its been turning out alright. It was rainy and muddy on the field and we had a lot of errors. Not too many people showed up, so I got to play a little more that I have the last couple weeks. I was surprised that I actually out ran and overshot a fly ball to right. I also beat a throw to first which I thought I wouldn't make. All I could hear was my little league coach screaming "Run Torreson, Run!" It felt good.

MAN IT IS HOT!

I like humor. I think I am a pretty funny at times. But, I think God is funnier. Here is yet another poof He exists. Well, not really proof, but it must be Him or the aliens playing a joke on us.

I just think it is great that it seems every event or expedition that is aimed to showcase or record Global Warming has occurred at the same time as a blizzard or snowstorm. A handful of summits on global warming have been canceled this year because of extreme cold. An expedition to the north pole was just canceled because it was so cold that people were getting frostbite and their vehicles wouldn't start.

Now I believe that there is a current pattern of global warming right now. I am not towing the republican line or anything. Now I do think we are either experiencing the the warm end of a natural cyclical process. On top of that, I also think that the earth is still warming up from the Ice age, or "last Ice age" as scientists like to call it. So while I do think it is getting warmer, I just think it is funny that every time Al Gore opens his mouth it snows...a lot.

I wanted to say how deeply I feel for the Dave Matt and Sarah and all those who loved Suzanne. She was a very special lady who really showed the love and joy of God in her life. While we know she is with Christ, it is still hard for us left behind. She sees the resotration of things now, while we remain in this broken world. Yet our hope is that we too will one day stand beside her in the presence of God. This chapter from Romans has always given me comfort in of the most difficult times in my life. I pray that it will strengthen you now and in the years to come.

In the Love of Christ,
Ted

Romans 8
1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

5Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Future Glory

18I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that^[i] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

More Than Conquerors

28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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