Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 5

Far Western Wisconsin

            Wow, where has the month of May gone? It’s been two weeksalready since my friend Phyllis, my pup Hannah, and I returned home from ourmini-vaca to an Airbnb in Emerald, Wisconsin. And until I did a search forplaces to share in that area, I didn’t even know there was a town of Emerald inWisconsin.

            Anyway, the three of us had a really good time, butinstead of going blah, blah, blah about it, I’ll just share some of thepictures. 

Wayside along the Red Cedar River, between Cornell and Connorsville, on the way there.   This was Hannah's first overnight adventure and she was a champ. Now everytime I go somewhere in the car, she runs to it and wants to go for a ride. Only a month ago, we had to drag her into the car and she'd practically have an anxiety attack.

Inside the Airbnb. Very nice and spacious. (and where's Hannah?)
The firepit just outside. Our first night there, the host built us a bonfire and we made s'mores. Second night, we were too tired. 
After we got there and unpacked, we took a walk in the woods behind the house. This falcon flew overhead and into this tree. Also, on my drive there, I saw a fox, a turkey, and a black bear, none of which had their picture taken as I was driving the car and Hannah hasn't learned photography yet. 
The St Croix River at Interstate Park. We spent much of the first morning there, hiking the trails. 
Hannah blending into the trail along the river. 
Doesn't that downed tree look like a dragon? 
One of the springs on Silverbrook Trail. We ran into a nice young ranger who pointed out the other spring and the waterfall. 
Silverbrook waterfalls. Hard to tell because it was so narrow and wooded around it. 
The other Silverbrook spring. You could see the water bubbling up through the sand on the bottom. We all had a drink of the cold, refreshing water, and Phyllis even filled up her water bottle. 
At Osceola. Cascade waterfalls is a hike down a whole bunch of stairs and none of us thought we were up to it at that point. Maybe next time!

Rest

 

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of youwho are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28,New Living Translation)

Whatis your burden today? What are you carrying that is too much for you? Is anxietytearing at your mind and soul? Is it physical pain that you can no longer handle?Are you just plain exhausted from all that life is handing you? Are you afraid you are about to fall? 

Turnit over to Jesus, and He will grant you rest. He will ease your burden and takeaway the pain in your heart, mind, and body. He will wrap His loving peacearound you.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Come to me. Getaway with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a realrest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforcedrhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keepcompany with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28-30,The Message)

Mylife has been in a tail spin the last few weeks. I keep repeating Matthew 11:28over and over in my head. It gets me through the days, but at night, betweenmidnight and two a.m., it’s hard to push out the worrisome thoughts. But whetherI sleep through the night or not, Jesus will always carry me.

Where Was I Wednesday?

Ormore like, where have I been for nearly two weeks? And where am I going to befor the next week?

It’sa long and stupid story, so just let me say our internet has been out sinceApril 24 and won’t be back on until after May 14. Hubby and I are not happy;actually, we are irate. But such is life. I borrow the internet from othersources when I can; the rest of the time, I have been writing my next book.Yea, Me!

So,why have I posted a blog for you to read today?

BecauseHannah and I went out of town for a few days with a friend of mine. Another,yea, Me!

Imight blog more about it, with more pictures, when I get internet at home, butfor now, here is where I am and whose internet I’m using today.

Hannah and me at Interstate State Park in St Croix Falls.

The Mississippi River at the state park.

The Airbnb we stayed at in Emerald.
Pansies! For the friend I’m here with. 

When Laughter Works Better Than Tears

          Sometimes, you just gotta laugh. Things aren't going well, so you getfrustrated or even angry. But whatever is going on, you just have to make thebest of it and laugh when you can.

         I maybe shouldn't be sharing this for the world to read, but my brother'sforgetfulness has turned into full-blown dementia. Hubby and I are doing ourbest, but I'm not gonna cry about it, so I'm gonna have to laugh instead.

         A couple of months ago, my brother called one morning to say his record playerwasn't working, and he couldn't figure out why because it was working fine theday before. He asked if we could run out and buy him a new one, even though wehad just bought it for him a few months before.

         I told him we'd come over to see what was wrong and if we could fix it. We gotthere, and it's not plugged in.

          We asked, "Where's the cord toplug it in?"

          Tom: "It's never been plugged in.It must be on a battery."

          Us: "No, there was a cord for itwhen we bought it for you three months ago. We plugged it in when we set it upfor you. So, where is the cord?"

          Tom: "There never was one."

         And there was none. We looked around his house as much as we felt safe (notgoing in his drawers for any reason), but nowhere in his house could we findit. No clue what he could have done with it. He had two razors with similarplugs, and we tried both of them, but neither fit.

          After ten more minutes ofconversations that continued to go in circles ("but it has never beenplugged in"), we told him we would take it home and see what we could do.We were sure that somewhere in our bags full of misfit electronics, we had aplug that would fit.

         So, we brought the record player home and dug through our stuff. I found threelikely candidates.

          The first one fit but didn't bring theturn table to life.

          The second one fit, and as soon as weplugged it in, the device made a little sighing noise. Yeah! Success.

          Before I could get the record on theturn table and check for music, I smelled smoke. Sure enough, smoke was rollingout of a tiny hole in the back of the device.

          I pulled the plug from the wall, andHubby pulled the cord from the record player. 

          Hubby: "I guess we'll have to buyhim a whole new record player."

          Me: "I could try the thirdcord."

          Hubby: "NOOOO!"

(The picture above is the box the new record player came in. I thought we should save it for awhile in case we had to take it back to the store when my brother couldn't figure out how to work it. I think it's time for the box to go, before I am listed off my rocker as well. Also, I keep reading "Big Bass" like the fish and rhymes with another name for donkey, instead of bass as in bass, tenor, soprano.)

Pure Joy

 

NowMary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into thetomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at thehead and the other at the foot.

They asked her, “Woman, why are youcrying?”

          “They have taken my Lord away,” shesaid, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned aroundand saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?Who is it you are looking for?”

          Thinking he was the gardener, shesaid, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and Iwill get him.”

          Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

          She turned toward him and cried out inAramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

          Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, forI have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them,‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

          Mary Magdalene went to the discipleswith the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said thesethings to her. (John 20:11-18, New International Version)

Joy,pure joy. How else could anyone describe how Mary felt in that moment. If youare a believer, you can feel that joy right now. And some day hold onto Jesuswhen you meet Him in heaven. 

(The picture here is from my trip to Kenya in2013, when my daughter and I visited the IDP camp at Maai Mahu. I love thesmile on this precious one’s face. She doesn’t have much, just enough food to surviveeach day, dirty clothes, a canvas shelter to live in with her family, but she wasfilled with pure joy when she met us.)

Surely, this was the Son of God

 Two other men, both criminals, were alsoled out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull,they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the otheron his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what theyare doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

The people stood watching, and the rulerseven sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he isGod’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

          The soldiers also came up and mockedhim. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews,save yourself.”

There was a written notice above him,which read: this is the king of the jews.

One of the criminals who hung there hurledinsults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

          But the other criminal rebuked him.“Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We arepunished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man hasdone nothing wrong.”

          Then he said, “Jesus, remember me whenyou come into your kingdom.”

          Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you,today you will be with me in paradise.”

          It was now about noon, and darknesscame over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stoppedshining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with aloud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had saidthis, he breathed his last. (Luke 23:32-45,NIV) 

When the centurion and those with him whowere guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they wereterrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54, NIV)

(The picture is from Ayacucho, Peru, when I was there in 2009. I'm sure I've shared this picture before. Ayacucho is known as the city of churches, so not too hard to find lots of crosses.)

What Weight are you Carrying?

 

Iwas going to share the entire first twenty-six verses of Luke chapter 23with you today. Tomorrow, Good Friday, you will get the rest of the story. ButI had too much to share from my personal life, and – well – there was one versethat said enough.

Youknow how the story goes. Jesus had been arrested. The church leaders turned Himover to Pontious Pilate, the Roman governor, for questioning. 

Therewas a tradition during Passover each year to release one prisoner. Pilate askedthe crowd if they wanted Jesus or a murderer, Barabbas, to be released. Theyshouted, “Release Barabbas! Crucify Jesus!”

Jesuswas taken away. The Roman soldiers mocked Him and beat Him, then took Him offto be crucified. After all that He had endured, carrying the wooden cross alongthe road to Golgotha got the best of His physical body. His spiritual bodycould hold the weight of the world, but He was an earthly man too.

     Asthey led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to becoming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross onhim and made him carry it behind Jesus. (Luke 23:26, New Living Translation)

I’vehad a rough week. I feel like I’ve had a burden thrown on my shoulders that Ijust can’t deal with. I lay on the couch yesterday afternoon and prayed to God, “Please lift thisburden from me.”

AsI mentioned, I’d already planned on including the above verse today. But in thatmoment of prayer, it struck me.

Simon from Cyrene only carried that cross for a little while, and I only have to handle my problems for a little while as well. Jesus will carry all of my burdens for all of my life if I only turn my probems over to Him. Or as in the words of Matthew11:28-30 in the New International Version:

     "Cometo me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take myyoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and youwill find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

(Today’s picture is one I took when I was inKenya in 2015.)

Denied

Then Jesus said to them, “All of you willabandon me tonight. Scripture says, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheepin the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am brought back to life, I will goto Galilee ahead of you.”

Peter said to him, “Even if everyone elseabandons you, I never will.”

Jesus replied to Peter, “I can guaranteethis truth: Before a rooster crows tonight, you will say three times that youdon’t know me.”

Peter told him, “Even if I have to diewith you, I’ll never say that I don’t know you!” All the other disciples saidthe same thing. (Matthew 26, verses 31 – 35)

Shortlyafter this, Jesus went to the Garden to pray. When He had finished and hadrejoined His disciples, a crowd arrived, led by Judas Iscariot. Jesus wasarrested and dragged off.

AndHis closest followers?  Then all thedisciples abandoned him and ran away. (verse 56)

EvenPeter? Peter followed at a distance until he came to the chief priest’scourtyard. He went inside and sat with the guards to see how this would turnout. (verse 58)

WhilePeter silently watched, the crowd demanded death penalty for Jesus. And then hemust have walked out.

Peter was sitting in the courtyard. Afemale servant came to him and said, “You, too, were with Jesus the Galilean.”

But Peter denied it in front of them allby saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

As he went to the entrance, another femaleservant saw him. She told those who were there, “This man was with Jesus fromNazareth.”

Again Peter denied it and swore with anoath, “I don’t know the man!”

After a little while the men standingthere approached Peter and said, “It’s obvious you’re also one of them. Youraccent gives you away!”

Then Peter began to curse and swear withan oath, “I don’t know the man!” Just then a rooster crowed. Peter rememberedwhat Jesus had said: “Before a rooster crows, you will say three times that youdon’t know me.” Then Peter went outside and cried bitterly. (Matthew 26, verses69-75)

Jesusis being led away to be handed over to the governor, Pontius Pilate, to bebeaten, tortured, ultimately crucified. I picture Jesus turning His head for amoment to find Peter in the crowd. Their eyes lock for a second.

Bitterly.Desperately. Intensely. With great anguish. I can’t imagine the pain Peterexperienced at that instant. Just as his Teacher, Leader, and Friend predicted,Peter denied that he even knew Him.   

Wouldyou deny that you know Jesus? Have you already denied Him? And if Jesus wasright in front of you now, how would that make you feel?

(Today’s picture is one which my daughter tookwhen she was in Kenya for six months in 2010.)

1984? 2025? 1933? 1962?

Over the weekend, I finished reading the novel “1984” by George Orwell. I read it thefirst time probably a few years before 1984, because I had to for a class and Iwas young and thought it was crazy to read a book with that title when I wasstaring down that particular year.

I don’t remember much from that first reading, except how terrifyingit was. And yet thinking that none of that could ever happen. That was waybefore the Hunger Games series and other recent dystopian books and movies. We were still living in the Cold War, and maybe we hadbeen desensitized by it after the Cuban Missile Crisis. I’ve lived through alot, but that doesn’t mean I knew what was going on. I was a dumb kid, not ajaded near-senior citizen with an over-active imagination and internet access.

Anyway, I’m sure you’ve heard of the book I’m talking about, butif you still don’t know anything about it, check it out on Google. I wish Icould recommend you read it for yourself, but I don’t want that liability.

Whether you know the premise of the book or nor, here are some quotes.They may chill you to the bone.

     “I hate purity, I hate goodness! Idon't want virtue to exist anywhere. I want everyone to be corrupt to thebones.”

     “Now I will tell you the answer to myquestion. It is this. The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We arenot interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, purepower. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are differentfrom the oligarchies of the past in that we know what we are doing. All theothers, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. TheGerman Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods,but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended,perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for alimited time, and that just around the corner there lay a paradise where human beingswould be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizespower with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is anend. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution;one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object ofpersecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object ofpower is power. Now you begin to understand me.”

     “Power is in tearing human minds topieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.”

     “It was possible, no doubt, to imaginea society in which wealth, in the sense of personal possessions and luxuries,should be evenly distributed, while power remained in the hands of a smallprivileged caste. But in practice such a society could not long remain stable.For if leisure and security were enjoyed by all alike, the great mass of humanbeings who are normally stupefied by poverty would become literate and wouldlearn to think for themselves; and when once they had done this, they wouldsooner or later realize that the privileged minority had no function, and theywould sweep it away. In the long run, a hierarchical society was only possibleon a basis of poverty and ignorance.”

     “You will be hollow. We shall squeezeyou empty, and then we shall fill you with ourselves.”

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Cambodia 

Jesus Prays

Then Jesus brought them to a garden grove,Gethsemane, and told them to sit down and wait while he went on ahead to pray. Hetook Peter with him and Zebedee’s two sons James and John, and began to befilled with anguish and despair.

Then he told them, “My soul is crushedwith horror and sadness to the point of death . . . stay here . . . stay awakewith me.”

He went forward a little, and fell facedownward on the ground, and prayed, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cupbe taken away from me. But I want your will, not mine.”

Then he returned to the three disciplesand found them asleep. “Peter,” he called, “couldn’t you even stay awake withme one hour? Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. Forthe spirit indeed is willing, but how weak the body is!”

Again he left them and prayed, “My Father!If this cup cannot go away until I drink it all, your will be done.”

He returned to them again and found themsleeping, for their eyes were heavy, so he went back to prayer the third time,saying the same things again.

Then he came to the disciples and said,“Sleep on now and take your rest . . . but no! The time has come! I am betrayedinto the hands of evil men! Up! Let’s be going! Look! Here comes the man who isbetraying me!” (Matthew 26:36-46, Living Bible)

It’sThursday night, and Jesus has just eaten His Last Supper and institutedCommunion. In only a few hours, Judas Iscariot will turn Him over to theauthorities. The next day, He will be convicted during a mock trial, beaten,and sentenced to die. He knows what is coming, and though He has brought it upseveral times, His disciples still don’t understand how this week will end.

Jesustakes His closest disciples to a garden to pray. They fall asleep on Him, notonce, not twice, but three times!

Whichis what I do most nights after I go to bed. After I turn out the lights and getall comfy, I start saying my prayers. I don’t get through the Lord’s Prayer. Mymind wanders as I try to confess my sins for the day. I forget all the thingsI’m thankful for. I can’t remember all the needs I wanted to bring to the Lordin prayer. And as many times as I pull my brain back to the matter at hand, Ican never finish that prayer. My mind keeps wandering, or I simply fall asleep.

Ikeep thinking I need to change my routine and say my prayers while I’m stillsitting up in bed. Or maybe while I’m still in the living room, after I’veturned off the TV and before I’ve brushed my teeth.

Butthere I am, no better than the men who followed Jesus when He lived among them.He forgave them, and I know He’ll forgive me. But I still need to keep trying.  

(The picture is of the rose garden at theGreen Lake Christian Conference Center when I was there in 2011 for a writers’conference.)