Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 9

Funny Friday, coz we all need to see the humor in life these days

I’ve been listening to way too manycomedians’ clips on YouTube. It has caused the resurfacing of my dream to be astand-up comedian. (I know – none of you saw that coming.) I can’t see thatever happening, though, not at this stage in my life, and here I sit in thefrozen north with nary a venue to showcase my talent. The groups of ladies Imeet with at Bible study and at Al-Anon are about the only available audience.

 Then I remember reading the books by Dave Barry, Bill Bryson, Erma Bombeck, andmy friend Mary Pierce. Maybe writing is a more appropriate medium for me. Plus,I would be spared the awkward silence when no one gets my jokes. If anyonereads what I write, I can sit back and imagine them guffawing at my every word.(Wow, spell check is getting better; it recognized the collection of letters Ithrew on this page in my attempt to spell guffaw.)

This all started when I was just a kid. My family decided I was so goofythat they nicknamed me Knutt (pronounced “nut,” and I don’t know who spelled itlike that the first time, but it stuck). They even got a T-shirt with that onit. Of course, they also bought me a T-shirt about being lazy, so I’m not surewhat kind of message my parents were trying to send. (But they also bought me the purple Smiley in the picture above.)

I don’t recall anyone outside the familythinking I was funny, even though others laughed at me, but that was justbecause I was so awkward. Back in my day, we weren’t bullied; we were pickedon. I don’t blame my low self-esteem on any of those kids, though. Rememberthose T-shirts my family bought me? But enough about that.

The goofiest thing I remembersingle-handedly doing at home was drinking a glass of water. Mom was alwaysharping on us that we weren’t drinking enough water. Water came from the tapthen, not from a bottle you bought at the store. So, one night, while everyonewas in the living room watching TV, I walked into the room during thecommercials. I pointed to the glass of water in my hand and announced, “Note, aglass of water.” Then I drank the glass dry.

I didn’t get any reaction out of myparents, but my sister Pat buried her head in a pillow. Not sure if that wascoz she was laughing or she was feeling humiliated for me. Whatever the case, Istill laugh when I think about it. What a goof I was! What a Knutt!

Most of the other comedic scenes in ourhouse revolved around things Pat and I did. Trouble we got into. Like the timewe were wrestling on one of our beds on top of someone’s homework. A pencil gotjabbed into her leg, and she wore that piece of lead for the rest of her life.And never let me forget it.

But I did the research, and what we callpencil lead has always been graphite. I guess pencil graphite doesn’t have thesame ring to it. But graphite reminds me of an incident in freshman Englishclass.

Mrs. Hanson assigned us to bring in aninteresting article to read in front of the class. Most of the girls found whatI call “squished puppy” stories – the ones where everyone cries when the puppygets hit by the car, or maybe he’s an old dog now and has to be put to sleep.But Kenny found an article about graphite fishing rods in an outdoor magazine.

I still can hear Mrs. Hanson’s sweet voicesaying, after he had read a page, “Oh, Kenny, that was so nice, but maybe youcan stop reading now and give someone else a chance to share their story.”

And I guess you want to stop reading nowtoo.

I want to close by wishing my husband andbiggest fan a very happy birthday. Taking him out for a fish fry tonight.  

More on Anger

 

          Hubby and I were driving home the other day when the car in front of us kickedup a rock which hit our vehicle. A beautiful, though quite distressing, starappeared on our windshield.

         Hubby spewed out a profanity to describe the other driver, blaming thementirely for something that wasn't their fault.

         As far as myself, I had a moment of anger which quickly turned to worry. Howmuch is this going to cost us? When is it going to get fixed? Can they use that glue stuff to stop it from spreading? Where are wegoing to take it?

         In my Sunday blog post, I wrote about Jesus becoming angry and even destructivewhen He entered the Temple. But His anger was not a sin.

         So what about my husband and I in the car that day?

         Clearly, Hubby's loss of control was a sin. He didn't use the Lord's name invain, but surely God would frown on his language. Hubby also berated anotherperson. Okay, it was far from breaking the fifth commandment – though shall notkill – but we aren't to even wish bad things on others. And according to the eighthcommandment, we aren't to speak badly of them either.

         And me? I felt no anger towards the other driver; I blamed it all on the rockand being at the wrong place at the wrong time. But then what happened in myhead? Worry.

         But certainly, worry isn't a sin. Is it?

         The very first commandment says that we are to have no other gods, and MartinLuther's take on that is that we should fear, love, and trust in God above allthings. Every time we worry about something, we are telling God that we don'ttrust Him, that we aren't sure He is going to take care of things for us.

          Or as Matthew wrote: “ThereforeI tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or aboutyour body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body morethan clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or storeaway in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much morevaluable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to yourlife? (Matthew 6:25-27, New International Version)

          But if even worrying is a sin, whatare we to do? We can never be good enough to be children of God or make it toheaven. That is what this time of year is all about - following Jesus to thecross and waking up on Easter morning knowing that He has overcome all of oursins.

After taking 2 dozen pictures, inside and out, this was the best I could get of that crack in my windshield. In real life, it really is a cute and annoying little star. 

Jesus at the Temple

When Jesus returned to Jerusalem, he wentinto the Temple and began to throw out those who were buying and selling there.He turned over the tables of those who were exchanging different kinds ofmoney, and he upset the benches of those who were selling doves. Jesus refusedto allow anyone to carry goods through the Temple courts. Then he taught thepeople, saying, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘My Temple will be called ahouse for prayer for people from all nations.’ But you are changing God’s houseinto a ‘hideout for robbers.’”

The leading priests and the teachers ofthe law heard all this and began trying to find a way to kill Jesus. They were afraidof him, because all the people were amazed at his teaching. (Mark 11:15-18, NewCentury Version)

Jesusand His disciples had just returned to Jerusalem amid the fanfare of what wenow call Palm Sunday. The first place He wanted to go was to the Temple. Butwhen He got there, He was not happy.

Becausethe Jewish visitors to the Temple were expected to make a sacrifice, merchantsand livestock salesmen set up shop in the outer areas of the Temple. Also, manyof the worshipers had traveled from afar, so they needed to have their moneychanged into the local currency. All of these transactions created a noisy,chaotic atmosphere in a place that should have evoked peace. And many of thesetransactions were ripping off honest, hard-working people who couldn’t affordthe high prices or didn’t know the exchange rate in Jerusalem.    

Ilose my temper fairly easily and usually regret it. But then I tell myself,“It’s not a sin to get angry if Jesus got angry in the temple.”

Wrong.My anger is way different. I usually get impatient when something isn’t workingfor me – something stupid like a knot in my shoelace. The next thing you know,I’m ready to throw that shoe across the room.

Jesushad a totally different and justifiable reason for His anger. He was madbecause people had disrespected His father’s house and turned it into a den ofthieves. 

Iget mad when things happen to me that I don’t like. Jesus only got mad when thingshappened that went against God.

(Today’s picture was taken at a market placein Mombasa, Kenya, when my daughter was there in 2010.)

Hannah Update

          In case you were wondering, our little Hannah is doing well. She goes in hercrate on her own at bedtime and sleeps quietly through the night. Well, unlessI wake up and hear her snoring. She’s been alone loose in the house for up tothree hours at a time and causes no chaos. I’m sure all she does is sleep.She’s only gotten into the garbage one time, and that was retrieving a granolabar wrapper that might have had a trace of something edible on it. Does herbusiness outside like a champ, no matter the weather, and usually chooses a farcorner of our yard to go number 2.

          I’m not happy she has taken over this chair, but she is just too cute lying onher perch. I’ve heard some Corgis think they are cats, so this makes sense. Andshe still gets along with our cat Emma fine.

         Oh, but the things she needs to work on!

         We quickly trained our last three dogs to stay in the yard with the shockcollar. For many years, we’ve had a unit in the basement that sets up aperimeter about fifty feet away. Two shocks, tops, and a few reminder beeps andthey all had it.

         We’ve been walking Hannah on the leash around the yard on the trails throughthe snow that were already there. But now that the snow is melting, I’ve beentrying out the shock collar and walking her closer to where the boundary wouldbe.

         The first few times, I carried the collar, and when she heard that beep, sheknew something was up and returned to me. However, nothing made sense to herwhen I put the collar on her. 

         As soon as she hears the beep, before even getting zapped, she starts digging.She seems to think the beeping is underground, probably because she is so lowto the ground. She’s frantic about trying to get to it.

          When I try pulling her away, she fights the leash and is even more obsessed with digging faster.

         So, I reach down and take the collar off of her. Once she hears that beepcoming from my hand, she comes right to me and tries to get the collar.

          As long as I have her on the leash and stayclose enough to her for her to hear the collar beep in my hand, she won’t crossthe invisible line. But how can I let her off leash so she can roam far enoughaway from me and the collar so that she won’t hear the beep?

         We’ll figure it out. At least she mostly comes when she’s called, whether acollar is beeping in my hand or not. 

          She won’t sit for us either. She getsangry if we try to push her little butt down, so we wonder if she had beenspanked on her butt in her previous home. That’s all we can figure. And lastly, she is horrible in the car, struggling the whole trip to sit in the driver's lap. Not happening, Hannah, let it go! The joys of getting a rescue baby. 

         We start obedience training the first of April. We’ll see how that goes. But inthe meantime, she still has my heart.

Jesus Enters Town on a Donkey

After telling this story, Jesus went ontoward Jerusalem, walking along ahead of his disciples. As they came to thetowns of Bethphage and Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciplesahead, with instructions to go to the next village, and as they entered theywere to look for a donkey tied beside the road. It would be a colt, not yetbroken for riding.

“Untie him,” Jesus said, “and bring himhere. And if anyone asks you what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needshim.’”

They found the colt as Jesus said, andsure enough, as they were untying it, the owners demanded an explanation.

“What are you doing?” they asked. “Why areyou untying our colt?”

And the disciples simply replied, “TheLord needs him!” So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw some of theirclothing across its back for Jesus to sit on.

Then the crowds spread out their robesalong the road ahead of him, and as they reached the place where the roadstarted down from the Mount of Olives, the whole procession began to shout andsing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles Jesushad done.

“God has given us a King!” they exulted.“Long live the King! Let all heaven rejoice! Glory to God in the highestheavens!” (Luke 19:28-38, Living Bible)

Yes,these verses talk about Palm Sunday, and I know that isn’t until mid-April. But Iwanted to spend the next six weeks writing about that one week between the dayJesus entered Jerusalem and the day He rose from the grave.

Okay,so let’s pretend it’s Palm Sunday. Jesus enters Jerusalem to the adoration ofthe locals. They had heard about how He had recently raised Lazarus from thedead, and they wanted to praise Him as their King.

Weall know that story; we picture those palm branches waving and may still get apalm branch in church when we celebrate Palm Sunday. But I’m gonna back up afew verses.

Beforeentering the city gates, the disciples had borrowed a young donkey for theirMaster to ride. The owner of this equine asked them what they were doing. Theyanswered as Jesus had instructed them – that it was for their Lord.

Inthis day and age, would we get away with that? Not if we were stealing thatanimal for fun or to sell for cash. And not even if we told the owner we wereon a mission from God.

Welive in different times. But we still need to listen for instructions from ourSavior Jesus. He probably won’t tell us to get Him a farm animal. But if Hetells us to witness to others or share our food with those in need, we should do that even if it makes us uncomfortable. Or maybe He will just tell us toopen our Bibles and study His word more. That can be just as important.   

(Today’s pictures are of the mini-donkeys thatmy dear friend owned. You know the story of the cross on the donkey’s back,right? Click this link for one version of that story.)

Rise up to the Sermon on the Mount

           “God blesses those who are poor and realizetheir need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 

God blesses those whomourn, for they will be comforted. 

God blesses those who are humble, for theywill inherit the whole earth. 

God blesses those who hunger and thirst forjustice, for they will be satisfied. 

God blesses those who are merciful, forthey will be shown mercy. 

God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for theywill see God. 

God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called thechildren of God. 

God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for theKingdom of Heaven is theirs." (Matthew 5:3-10, New Living Translation)     

          If you have your Bible handy, turn tothe book of Matthew, the first book in the New Testament, and read all ofchapters 5 through 7. If you don’t have a Bible, click on this link to get youto the Bible Gateway website.

          These words of Jesus in Matthew areknown as the Sermon on the Mount. If you read nothing else in the Bible, studythese words of Jesus. Take them to heart. Memorize the verses that stick outthe most for you.

          Today is Ash Wednesday, the first dayof Lent, those forty days leading up to Easter when we should take time toreflect on the life and death of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

          Back in the day, all my good Catholicfriends gave up something for Lent (I’ve written about that here in the past). These year, let’s all give up hatred, anxiety, and fear. 

Let’s devote more time for prayer and studyingthe Bible. Let’s take more deep breaths. Let’s tell our friends and family how importantthey are to us. Let’s review our budgets to find a way to give a little bit toa worthy charity. Let’s carve out some time each day to just be at peace. Andlet’s share that peace with everyone we meet. And not just for the next six weeks,but for the rest of our lives.

Let us be a blessing just as God blesses us. 

(The picture is from my trip to Kenya in 2015.I’ve unfortunately never been to Israel, but maybe the location of Jesus’sSermon on the Mount looked something like this.)

Anointing His Feet

          

          Six days before the Passover, Jesus wentto Bethany, the home of Lazarus, the man he had raised from death. Theyprepared a dinner for him there, which Martha helped serve; Lazarus was one ofthose who were sitting at the table with Jesus. Then Mary took a whole pint ofa very expensive perfume made of pure nard, poured it on Jesus' feet, and wipedthem with her hair. The sweet smell of the perfume filled the whole house.

One of Jesus' disciples, JudasIscariot—the one who was going to betray him—said, “Why wasn't this perfumesold for three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor?” He saidthis, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. Hecarried the money bag and would help himself from it.

But Jesus said, “Leave her alone! Let herkeep what she has for the day of my burial. You will always have poor peoplewith you, but you will not always have me.” (John 12:1-8, Good NewsTranslation)

 

Fromthese verses, you might take away that Mary had given this gift to Jesus – Healready has everything, so what other gifts could He receive? Or you mightthink only of that scoundrel Judas, knowing what he is going to do next byturning Jesus over to the authorities. Or you might think about this perfumebeing used to prepare Jesus for His burial a week before His death.

Ilooked up references to these verses on different websites and in my studyBible. You can find all the nuances in those places as well. But it was in my“Children’s Bible in 365 Stories” that I found what I wanted to say today.

WhenJudas rebuked Mary for wasting so much money – a year’s worth of wages by someestimates – her face fell. She had wanted to show her love for Jesus by thisgenerous gift and the humble act of washing His feet. She might have thought,“Oh, no, I messed this all up for my Lord, and now His disciples think I’mwasteful.”

ButJesus immediately jumped to her defense. Today, I’m going to remember thatJesus will always jump to my defense as well. There is nothing I can screw upso badly that I can’t turn to Him with tears in my eyes and an apology on mylips.

Hewill always smile at me and reassure me. He will always love me.

Is There More I Can Do? Is There More You Can Do?

 

I'vebeen debating whether or not I should post these thoughts. However, I continueto read various news sources, including everyone's opinions on Facebook,LinkedIn, and Twitter, and I feel I need to make my voice heard as well. 

Afterthe presidential inauguration on January 20, it didn't take the newadministration long to start turning our secure United States world upsidedown. By the end of the month, I started writing letters to my members ofCongress with my concerns, mostly about immigration and other human rightsissues.

Ireceived a welcomed email from my Democratic senator in support of my thoughtsbut nothing from my Republican representative. Last Friday, I finally heardfrom my Republican senator, Ron Johnson. Let me share that email before I tellyou what I thought about it.

    FindingWaste, Fraud, and Abuse in Federal Spending

    DearChristine,

    Sen.Johnson's top concern as a U.S. Senator has always been our federal debt anddeficit, and the ongoing spending that is mortgaging our children's future. Hecalls it immoral. Sen. Johnson has consistently and persistently called outbloated spending, Big Government, and unaccountable bureaucrats who havethwarted his oversight.

    PresidentTrump's launch of a temporary advisory committee — the Department of GovernmentEfficiency (DOGE) — with Elon Musk as a special government (non-paid) employee,is a new approach to correcting waste, fraud, and abuse within the executivebranch of the federal government.

Creatinga new department while eliminating others that are actually helping people isbeyond me, but here's the email I sent back.

Dear Senator Johnson,

I sent your office an email on January 31.No one in your office seems to have read it, as I hadn't heard from you until Ireceived a "form letter" email yesterday. Nothing in your messageaddressed my concerns; instead, it infuriated me.

In your message, you praised PresidentTrump for slashing government spending and hiring Elon Musk to oversee this.Certainly, cuts need to be made somewhere, but not at the expense of theAmerican people.

How does it help the economy to fire manymiddle-class residents from their government jobs? Hasn't the United Statesgovernment historically helped create jobs instead?

Also, most government agencies beingslashed were created to help the American people, whether providing aid tothose living in poverty or allowing them to enjoy beautiful outdoor spaces andeducational institutions.

Here's where cuts need to be made - theoutrageous salaries and benefits packages of high-ranking government officials.Are any of their jobs or expenses being cut?

Also, the wealthy need to pay more inincome taxes. Leave the working class alone - we have been the backbone of theUnited States since the very beginning, and we are always the first to suffermonetarily.

However, what incensed me the most whilereading your email was the championing of Elon Musk. Have you ever read theBible? Have you ever heard of two people - the antichrist and the falseprophet? In the End Times of this planet, those two, along with Satan, make upthe Unholy Trinity.

I hate making this email so long, but Iwanted to tell you about these guys in case you've never heard of them.  

The antichrist will win people over withhis charm, charisma, and promises. He will unite the world under one globalsuperpower, one currency, and will attempt to change the dates, times, andmaps. He will essentially try to play God.

The false prophet will be appointed by theantichrist to give him more credibility and pave the way for this evil ruler toexercise his injustice and corruption.

And, of course, there is Satan, whocontrols these two men and has the single most agenda to bring down the entireworld. Are there two such men working in Washington right now?

I've been praying to God to save thiscountry and this world for a long time. My prayers have become more fervent andfrequent. As a Christian, I know that the world is going to take a horribleturn before Jesus returns. I didn't think it would happen in my lifetime, and Ipray that non-believers see what's happening before it's too late. I pray thatyou can see that, too.

Sincerely, Christine Kincaid

Iwill continue to pray and continue to write. Maybe there is more I could do,but God hasn’t called me to do anything else right now. What about you?

To contact your representatives and senators, click this link. 

Jesus Brings a Deadman Back to Life

 

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came tothe tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away thestone.”

Martha, the sister of the dead man, saidto him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead fourdays.”

Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell youthat if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away thestone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that youhave heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account ofthe people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”

When he had said these things, he criedout with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, hishands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth.Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Many of the Jews therefore, who had comewith Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him. (John 11:38-45, EnglishStandard Version)

Justas the other stories I've shared the past few weeks, you know the story ofLazarus. I haven't copied the entire incident here, but it would be great ifyou pulled out your Bibles to the book of John and read all of chapter 11. (Orclick on this link to the Bible Gateway website.)

Icould write a good six blog posts on the first 45 verses of that chapter. Buthere we are, short on time with Lent creeping up on us.

Anyway,the siblings, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, are friends of Jesus. Lazarus fallsill, and his sisters send word to Jesus, asking Him to come. Jesus didn't jumpup and run off to their home, a few days' walk away. No, Jesus hung out withHis disciples two days before announcing, "Let's go see Lazarus, who hasfallen asleep (meaning he has already died)."

Theyarrived at Lazarus's tomb, and Jesus called His friend to arise and come out.Miracle of miracles.

Buthere's my takeaway verse from this story. Jesus said to her, "Did I nottell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

Believeand see the glory of God! What beautiful words! No matter what you are goingthrough today, have faith, believe. You may not see God's glory with your eyestoday or tomorrow. But someday you will if you only believe.

Up North – Where Were We Wednesday?

LastFriday, Hubby took me and Hannah up north for Valentine’s Day.

Our first stop was the Ice Castle in Eagle River.

We each had to get a picture with the pooch.

She wouldn’t cooperate for a selfie with all three of us.

I hope you can read the sign about the Ice Castle. I was too lazy to type it here for you. But I did hear that they were going to dismantle it in another week or so.

Further up the road, we stopped at Bluff Valley Park, just outside of Bessemer. The joy of taking a dog on a road trip – lots of stops!

Then finally arrived at Black River Harbor on Lake Superior.

Even though I didn’t tromp all the way to the shore, I could still feel the awesomeness of the greatest of the Great Lakes.  

The stillness in the frigid air in the winter always stuns me.

Hannah was not nearly as impressed, but she was a good pup.

And had to make sure that Poppa came out of Joe’s Pasty Shop in Ironwood.  I hope I don’t have to rename this blog after Hannah? What do you think?