Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 140
March 22, 2015
A Morning Prayer
Psalm 5 (from the International Children’s Bible) (ICB)
A Morning Prayer for Protection
Lord, listen to my words. Understand what I am thinking.2 Listen to my cry for help. My king and my God, I pray to you.3 Lord, every morning you hear my voice. Every morning, I tell you what I need. And I wait for your answer.4 You are not a God who is pleased with what is wicked. You do not live with those who do evil.5 Those people who make fun of you cannot stand before you. You hate all those who do wrong.6 You destroy liars. The Lord hates those who kill and trick others.7 Because of your great love, I can come into your Temple.Because I fear and respect you, I can worship in your holy Temple.8 Lord, since I have many enemies, show me the right thing to do. Show me clearly how you want me to live.9 With their mouths my enemies do not tell the truth. In their hearts they want to destroy people.Their throats are like open graves. They use their tongues for telling lies.10 God, declare them guilty! Let them fall into their own traps.Send them away because their sins are many. They have turned against you.11 But let everyone who trusts you be happy. Let them sing glad songs forever.Protect those who love you. They are happy because of you.12 Lord, you bless those who do what is right. You protect them like a soldier’s shield.
A book I’m reading, “God Called – He Needs Your Decision”, recommended the International Children’s Bible as an easy-to-read bible. Sure, it is written at the third grade reading level, but it isn’t talking down to me. I just want to understand it. Isn’t that the most important part?
In this particle passage, I love the thought of praying to God each morning. I think a lot of us wake up whining, not wanting to get out of bed, not wanting to go to work. All we want to pray to God for is the winning lottery ticket and then all our troubles will be over. Right? They say that God answers all our prayers but sometimes the answer is “no”. Can you see why that is?
But we may never be able to understand why our prayers asking for world peace or an end to suffering or for just one friend or relative to be cured of their incurable disease, why those prayers would possibly also get an answer of “no”.
It is not for us to know what is in the mind of God; it is for us to continue to pray and to not lose heart. He is listening.
A Morning Prayer for Protection
Lord, listen to my words. Understand what I am thinking.2 Listen to my cry for help. My king and my God, I pray to you.3 Lord, every morning you hear my voice. Every morning, I tell you what I need. And I wait for your answer.4 You are not a God who is pleased with what is wicked. You do not live with those who do evil.5 Those people who make fun of you cannot stand before you. You hate all those who do wrong.6 You destroy liars. The Lord hates those who kill and trick others.7 Because of your great love, I can come into your Temple.Because I fear and respect you, I can worship in your holy Temple.8 Lord, since I have many enemies, show me the right thing to do. Show me clearly how you want me to live.9 With their mouths my enemies do not tell the truth. In their hearts they want to destroy people.Their throats are like open graves. They use their tongues for telling lies.10 God, declare them guilty! Let them fall into their own traps.Send them away because their sins are many. They have turned against you.11 But let everyone who trusts you be happy. Let them sing glad songs forever.Protect those who love you. They are happy because of you.12 Lord, you bless those who do what is right. You protect them like a soldier’s shield.
A book I’m reading, “God Called – He Needs Your Decision”, recommended the International Children’s Bible as an easy-to-read bible. Sure, it is written at the third grade reading level, but it isn’t talking down to me. I just want to understand it. Isn’t that the most important part?
In this particle passage, I love the thought of praying to God each morning. I think a lot of us wake up whining, not wanting to get out of bed, not wanting to go to work. All we want to pray to God for is the winning lottery ticket and then all our troubles will be over. Right? They say that God answers all our prayers but sometimes the answer is “no”. Can you see why that is?
But we may never be able to understand why our prayers asking for world peace or an end to suffering or for just one friend or relative to be cured of their incurable disease, why those prayers would possibly also get an answer of “no”.
It is not for us to know what is in the mind of God; it is for us to continue to pray and to not lose heart. He is listening.
March 21, 2015
And rising from the ashes...
I know that I haven't done any walking in my hometown in a long time and my only excuse is that I am getting too old for winter. I keep telling my husband that we need to move south when the cold weather sets in in the fall, but he seems to think that we have to continue working twelve months out of the year. The days until retirement are many, but I am still going to start counting them.
I haven't started my full-blown street-walking yet for the season, but I finally did take a walk around the block where the old Sacred Heart Hospital sat. The assisted living facility is really coming along. I can never understand how they can build like that in the winter.
Because most of my landmarks from previous walks around this block are gone, I took a calculated guess. The new pictures are at least in the vicinity of the old ones.
Front side of the Hospital, on March 30 of last year. Hard to believe that was only a year ago.
August 25, 2014. The old building has reached the point of new return.
The new building is coming along. I think that's the same tree.
This one is my cherished oldie, from March of 2008, back when people were still holding out hope that this building could become something grand again.
Not so grand in August of last year.
And the walls came tumbling down in September.
But how exciting that new walls have gone up. And there's that tree again.
I seem to have the most pictures of the ER entrance. July 11, 2014
August 25, 2014
September 6, 2014
October 16, 2014
March 20, 2015
The file of pictures from this one city block stands at 145, if anyone wants to see more. Hopefully there will be pictures of other Tomahawk city blocks very soon. Pray for warm weather for me.
I haven't started my full-blown street-walking yet for the season, but I finally did take a walk around the block where the old Sacred Heart Hospital sat. The assisted living facility is really coming along. I can never understand how they can build like that in the winter.
Because most of my landmarks from previous walks around this block are gone, I took a calculated guess. The new pictures are at least in the vicinity of the old ones.
Front side of the Hospital, on March 30 of last year. Hard to believe that was only a year ago.
August 25, 2014. The old building has reached the point of new return.
The new building is coming along. I think that's the same tree.
This one is my cherished oldie, from March of 2008, back when people were still holding out hope that this building could become something grand again.
Not so grand in August of last year.
And the walls came tumbling down in September.
But how exciting that new walls have gone up. And there's that tree again.
I seem to have the most pictures of the ER entrance. July 11, 2014
August 25, 2014
September 6, 2014
October 16, 2014
March 20, 2015The file of pictures from this one city block stands at 145, if anyone wants to see more. Hopefully there will be pictures of other Tomahawk city blocks very soon. Pray for warm weather for me.
March 15, 2015
Pedals
“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” James 1:19 (NIV)
I spent the entire afternoon Saturday cleaning the inside of my car. Took everything out, vacuumed, scrubbed, cleaned the windows. As happens in the Snowbelt, the interior of my car was abysmal from salt, dirt, dog hair, lost French fries, spilled milkshakes.
My body was half outside and half on the floor of the driver’s seat. I was debating if I was getting out of control by actually washing off the foot pedals, when it dawned on me that the gas pedal is way smaller than the brake pedal.
Why would that be? Of course, your foot is on the gas more than on the brake and when you need to find the brake pedal, it needs to be big enough to hit with your foot without taking your eyes off the road to find it. Only a few accidents are avoided by hitting the gas; in general accidents are prevented by slamming on the brakes.
I’ve been trying to memorize Bible passages and the one above has been on my desk this week. “Quick to listen, slow to speak”. The speaking pedal should be small, while the listening pedal should be large. The listening pedal needs to be easy to find, easy to use because it prevents many an accident, keeps you safe, helps others. The speaking pedal? It maybe gets you where you want to go, but you have to be able to stop once you get there!
Dear Lord, God in Heaven, help me to remember to think before I speak and more importantly to listen before I speak. Help me to put the needs of my brothers and sisters ahead of mine and to know that I must listen for those needs first. Amen
I spent the entire afternoon Saturday cleaning the inside of my car. Took everything out, vacuumed, scrubbed, cleaned the windows. As happens in the Snowbelt, the interior of my car was abysmal from salt, dirt, dog hair, lost French fries, spilled milkshakes.
My body was half outside and half on the floor of the driver’s seat. I was debating if I was getting out of control by actually washing off the foot pedals, when it dawned on me that the gas pedal is way smaller than the brake pedal.
Why would that be? Of course, your foot is on the gas more than on the brake and when you need to find the brake pedal, it needs to be big enough to hit with your foot without taking your eyes off the road to find it. Only a few accidents are avoided by hitting the gas; in general accidents are prevented by slamming on the brakes.
I’ve been trying to memorize Bible passages and the one above has been on my desk this week. “Quick to listen, slow to speak”. The speaking pedal should be small, while the listening pedal should be large. The listening pedal needs to be easy to find, easy to use because it prevents many an accident, keeps you safe, helps others. The speaking pedal? It maybe gets you where you want to go, but you have to be able to stop once you get there!
Dear Lord, God in Heaven, help me to remember to think before I speak and more importantly to listen before I speak. Help me to put the needs of my brothers and sisters ahead of mine and to know that I must listen for those needs first. Amen
March 9, 2015
My List of Failures
I took an un-announced break from blogging because I was basically feeling sorry for myself.
Here's my list of failures.
In 2005 I signed up to sell BeautiControl, which if you know me and my lack of makeup-applying skills, you may find hard to believe. You will no doubt find it easier to believe that after five or so parties, I hung up on that dream of getting rich.
Next I got this cleaver idea to sew pillows with pockets (the next best thing after blankets with sleeves, right?). I sold a few to people I know, but the Etsy store and the craft shows went nowhere.
I returned to my childhood dream of writing, wrote my memoir, then found a publisher in 2012. They even published two more of my books the following two years. As is the tread in publishing right now, marketing of my books was quite a bit on my own. Again, I feel that I have failed there.
A fourth endeavor, which this time I am not in alone, is the nonprofit organization which my daughter Val started in 2013. The two of us have tried promoting Tumaini Volunteers through various venues, but yet again, I feel that we haven't gotten anywhere.
I can trace all of this failure to my fourth year of college. I was majoring in mass communications, with - of all things - a concentration in marketing and public relations! Can you just even believe it?
Hopefully you will believe what happened next. God sent me a clear and distinct sign that I should drop out of college. Seriously. So I did. Good thing, I think. Years later, God sent me to a community college with a medical assisting program and that's how I ended up where I am today. Without any marketing expertise, and some statistics to support that.
So, where do I go from here? I still use BeautiControl products for my own personal use, coz I like the stuff. I still sew and am working on quilt squares for a quilt for my own personal use. I've got three books for sale on Amazon.com (and a box of each of them in my closet). Someday I may have to read again all those words I wrote. And lastly my daughter and I are still plugging away on Tumaini, trying to finish writing our business plan, trying to raise some money, and trying to scare up some more volunteers for both here at home and to go to Kenya.
I kinda want to leave it all on God's plate to deal with, but He has enough stuff on His plate already. But I've heard His plate is pretty big...
If you want to help God out, here are the websites you can go to:
http://www.tumainivolunteers.org/
http://www.amazon.com/Chris-Loehmer-Kincaid/e/B00FOC3WAY/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1425951043&sr=1-2-ent
https://www.facebook.com/tumainivolunteers/timeline
https://www.facebook.com/ChrisLoehmerKincaid
https://www.etsy.com/listing/216789576/unique-kenyan-necklace?ref=shop_home_active_3
http://www.tumainivolunteers.org/donate.html
Like them, share them, comment on them, open your wallet. Or not.
Here's my list of failures.
In 2005 I signed up to sell BeautiControl, which if you know me and my lack of makeup-applying skills, you may find hard to believe. You will no doubt find it easier to believe that after five or so parties, I hung up on that dream of getting rich.
Next I got this cleaver idea to sew pillows with pockets (the next best thing after blankets with sleeves, right?). I sold a few to people I know, but the Etsy store and the craft shows went nowhere.
I returned to my childhood dream of writing, wrote my memoir, then found a publisher in 2012. They even published two more of my books the following two years. As is the tread in publishing right now, marketing of my books was quite a bit on my own. Again, I feel that I have failed there.
A fourth endeavor, which this time I am not in alone, is the nonprofit organization which my daughter Val started in 2013. The two of us have tried promoting Tumaini Volunteers through various venues, but yet again, I feel that we haven't gotten anywhere.
I can trace all of this failure to my fourth year of college. I was majoring in mass communications, with - of all things - a concentration in marketing and public relations! Can you just even believe it?
Hopefully you will believe what happened next. God sent me a clear and distinct sign that I should drop out of college. Seriously. So I did. Good thing, I think. Years later, God sent me to a community college with a medical assisting program and that's how I ended up where I am today. Without any marketing expertise, and some statistics to support that.
So, where do I go from here? I still use BeautiControl products for my own personal use, coz I like the stuff. I still sew and am working on quilt squares for a quilt for my own personal use. I've got three books for sale on Amazon.com (and a box of each of them in my closet). Someday I may have to read again all those words I wrote. And lastly my daughter and I are still plugging away on Tumaini, trying to finish writing our business plan, trying to raise some money, and trying to scare up some more volunteers for both here at home and to go to Kenya.
I kinda want to leave it all on God's plate to deal with, but He has enough stuff on His plate already. But I've heard His plate is pretty big...
If you want to help God out, here are the websites you can go to:
http://www.tumainivolunteers.org/
http://www.amazon.com/Chris-Loehmer-Kincaid/e/B00FOC3WAY/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1425951043&sr=1-2-ent
https://www.facebook.com/tumainivolunteers/timeline
https://www.facebook.com/ChrisLoehmerKincaid
https://www.etsy.com/listing/216789576/unique-kenyan-necklace?ref=shop_home_active_3
http://www.tumainivolunteers.org/donate.html
Like them, share them, comment on them, open your wallet. Or not.
February 25, 2015
Wildlife Wednesday - my own backyard
I've been distracted the last few weeks, as every time I look out a window of my house, I seem to find one of these.
Out my office window
Out my dining room window
Out my back door
Out the patio door
Sometimes I think I am surrounded. But it is worth it. Aren't they beautiful?
Out my office window
Out my dining room window
Out my back door
Out the patio door
Sometimes I think I am surrounded. But it is worth it. Aren't they beautiful?
February 22, 2015
"You surround them with Your shield of Love"
1 O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning.2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you.3 Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.4 O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness; you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked.5 Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence, for you hate all who do evil.6 You will destroy those who tell lies. The Lord detests murderers and deceivers.7 Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house;
I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe.8 Lead me in the right path, O Lord, or my enemies will conquer me.Make your way plain for me to follow.9 My enemies cannot speak a truthful word. Their deepest desire is to destroy others.Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with flattery.10 O God, declare them guilty. Let them be caught in their own traps.Drive them away because of their many sins,
for they have rebelled against you.11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever.Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy.12 For you bless the godly, O Lord; you surround them with your shield of love.Psalm 5, New Living Translation
February 20, 2015
A Century Ago
2-20-15. Today’s date. Or the date one hundred years ago.
World War I was raging across Europe. I wish I had paid attention in History class in High School. I do remember that the whole war was sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. That always seemed a bit extreme to me, but I suppose wars have been won and lost over what I would consider even more trivial events.
But back to Europe at that time. Can you imagine living in a country in the midst of war? For my entire lifetime, I have seen images of war on the nightly news, but I don’t know if any of us can truly appreciate it unless we have been there. How does anyone go about their day to day lives? Go shopping? Hold down a job? Sleep at night? Knowing that at any moment, a bomb could hit the building next door? Or your building?
Germany, being the instigator she is, had to have been at the center of things. Having been born and raised on the other side, all I learned about was air raids on Great Britain and how the Anne Frank family lived in the room upstairs in Holland. But there were so many good and innocent people living in Germany at the time. One group of them was the Loehmer family.
Oh, how I wish I knew more about them. How I wish one of them were still alive or had kept a detailed diary. From what I have learned, though, there wasn’t money for extra paper and pencil to chronicle something as wasteful as a diary.
Somewhere in that bleak landscape, the Loehmer family welcomed another son on this date one hundred years ago. My dad.
Dad on his wedding day, July 6, 1945
After Mom and Dad got married, he was in an adult confirmation class at church. He is the dashing (although short) man in the middle in the back row.
Dad with my brother and sister. The caption on this picture reads: "April 26, 1952, near Ontonagan on Lake Superior, 85 degrees out"
My dad (on the left) with his brothers Fritz and Frank, at Fritz's granddaughter's wedding. I can't remember the year, but I know it was in the late 70s. But don't these three look like escapees from a Dean Martin movie?
World War I was raging across Europe. I wish I had paid attention in History class in High School. I do remember that the whole war was sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. That always seemed a bit extreme to me, but I suppose wars have been won and lost over what I would consider even more trivial events.
But back to Europe at that time. Can you imagine living in a country in the midst of war? For my entire lifetime, I have seen images of war on the nightly news, but I don’t know if any of us can truly appreciate it unless we have been there. How does anyone go about their day to day lives? Go shopping? Hold down a job? Sleep at night? Knowing that at any moment, a bomb could hit the building next door? Or your building?
Germany, being the instigator she is, had to have been at the center of things. Having been born and raised on the other side, all I learned about was air raids on Great Britain and how the Anne Frank family lived in the room upstairs in Holland. But there were so many good and innocent people living in Germany at the time. One group of them was the Loehmer family.
Oh, how I wish I knew more about them. How I wish one of them were still alive or had kept a detailed diary. From what I have learned, though, there wasn’t money for extra paper and pencil to chronicle something as wasteful as a diary.
Somewhere in that bleak landscape, the Loehmer family welcomed another son on this date one hundred years ago. My dad.
Dad on his wedding day, July 6, 1945
After Mom and Dad got married, he was in an adult confirmation class at church. He is the dashing (although short) man in the middle in the back row.
Dad with my brother and sister. The caption on this picture reads: "April 26, 1952, near Ontonagan on Lake Superior, 85 degrees out"
My dad (on the left) with his brothers Fritz and Frank, at Fritz's granddaughter's wedding. I can't remember the year, but I know it was in the late 70s. But don't these three look like escapees from a Dean Martin movie?
February 18, 2015
What Can You Give Up?
I have done this other years, even though I am not Catholic. Maybe I continue it in tribute to all my friends from high school, who year after year, moaned about the torture they had to endure during this season.
Yes, today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. The first day of 40 days (which is actually 46 days but they don’t count Sundays) of reverence and reflection. During Lent, all of my Catholic friends had to give something up (in addition to giving up meat on Fridays). If they were feeling particularly sovereign, they would actually give up something that meant something to them, such as drinking soda or going to the movie (I grew up in a simpler time). More often, they would give up something that really wasn’t painful at all, such as eating oatmeal or talking in class.
But I started out talking about me and what I was going to give up this year. That would be chocolate. Then right away, just like my Catholic friends who said that they could give up giving up something on Sundays, I started making my own rules as to what really constitutes chocolate. Isn’t there a verse in the Bible about me being weak and God being strong?
Then yesterday, I found this website on someone’s Facebook page. What really should we give up for Lent? A food product or a bad habit? How about doing something that really changes your life for the following six weeks? And we find ourselves carrying over into the entire year?
Well, I read the list over. It does look harder than giving up chocolate. It is early in the day, though, as I write this; I will figure it out.
For example, just how much chocolate is in this bunny anyway? Coz I just can't count white chocolate as chocolate.
Yes, today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. The first day of 40 days (which is actually 46 days but they don’t count Sundays) of reverence and reflection. During Lent, all of my Catholic friends had to give something up (in addition to giving up meat on Fridays). If they were feeling particularly sovereign, they would actually give up something that meant something to them, such as drinking soda or going to the movie (I grew up in a simpler time). More often, they would give up something that really wasn’t painful at all, such as eating oatmeal or talking in class.
But I started out talking about me and what I was going to give up this year. That would be chocolate. Then right away, just like my Catholic friends who said that they could give up giving up something on Sundays, I started making my own rules as to what really constitutes chocolate. Isn’t there a verse in the Bible about me being weak and God being strong?
Then yesterday, I found this website on someone’s Facebook page. What really should we give up for Lent? A food product or a bad habit? How about doing something that really changes your life for the following six weeks? And we find ourselves carrying over into the entire year?
Well, I read the list over. It does look harder than giving up chocolate. It is early in the day, though, as I write this; I will figure it out.
For example, just how much chocolate is in this bunny anyway? Coz I just can't count white chocolate as chocolate.
February 15, 2015
What is Love?
I had a few thoughts for today’s blog, and then Life happened, as it so often does. In light of the celebration of Valentine’s Day yesterday, I decided to resort to the obvious.
I may speak in different languages, whether human or even of angels. But if I don’t have love, I am only a noisy bell or a ringing cymbal. 2 I may have the gift of prophecy, I may understand all secrets and know everything there is to know, and I may have faith so great that I can move mountains. But even with all this, if I don’t have love, I am nothing. 3 I may give away everything I have to help others, and I may even give my body as an offering to be burned. But I gain nothing by doing all this if I don’t have love.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. 5 Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. 6 Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. 7 Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits.
8 Love will never end. But all those gifts will come to an end—even the gift of prophecy, the gift of speaking in different kinds of languages, and the gift of knowledge. 9 These will all end because this knowledge and these prophecies we have are not complete. 10 But when perfection comes, the things that are not complete will end.
11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, and I made plans like a child. When I became a man, I stopped those childish ways. 12 It is the same with us. Now we see God as if we are looking at a reflection in a mirror. But then, in the future, we will see him right before our eyes. Now I know only a part, but at that time I will know fully, as God has known me. 13 So these three things continue: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13 Easy-to-Read Version
Maybe not my most original post, but you can’t beat a sure thing.
I may speak in different languages, whether human or even of angels. But if I don’t have love, I am only a noisy bell or a ringing cymbal. 2 I may have the gift of prophecy, I may understand all secrets and know everything there is to know, and I may have faith so great that I can move mountains. But even with all this, if I don’t have love, I am nothing. 3 I may give away everything I have to help others, and I may even give my body as an offering to be burned. But I gain nothing by doing all this if I don’t have love.4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. 5 Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. 6 Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. 7 Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits.
8 Love will never end. But all those gifts will come to an end—even the gift of prophecy, the gift of speaking in different kinds of languages, and the gift of knowledge. 9 These will all end because this knowledge and these prophecies we have are not complete. 10 But when perfection comes, the things that are not complete will end.
11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, and I made plans like a child. When I became a man, I stopped those childish ways. 12 It is the same with us. Now we see God as if we are looking at a reflection in a mirror. But then, in the future, we will see him right before our eyes. Now I know only a part, but at that time I will know fully, as God has known me. 13 So these three things continue: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.1 Corinthians 13 Easy-to-Read Version
Maybe not my most original post, but you can’t beat a sure thing.
February 13, 2015
Friendship Friday
Jan in 2011, always a very beautiful lady.I got some sad news yesterday. A wonderful woman who I was blessed to know for only a few short years died in a car accident on Tuesday.
I’ve written here before about my experiences at the Green Lake Writers Conferences and I wouldn’t have gotten nearly as much out of those gatherings had it not been for the talent and passion of this woman. She was the warmest, sweetest person I have ever met and was filled with both faith and humor. It would be impossible to not have your life changed upon first meeting her. When I met her in Green Lake in 2010, I was instantly charmed by her.
Jan in 2012, always cheering everyone on.But enough of that. A hole has been left in the world now that she has gone to join her Heavenly Father, but there are so many other holes which have been filled just because she once live among us.
For more information, click here
Jan in 2013, the last year I attended the conference. 
