Sassy Buys Blueberries and Makes Another Friend. More on Beneficial Insects

Growing tips

My gardening friends began posting about all their blueberry harvests, so I decided to take Sassy over to Almost Eden for some bushes. That was extra fun. First of all, we had to wait a little, so I got to browse all the plants he had out for sale while Sassy explored the former dairy farm, now a large grassy field garnished with nursery equipment and displays.

Soon the owner came out and his little son ventured out of the house with his mother. Sassy was an instant hit with the boy, so much that he was distraught when Sassy went off to explore for a minute. They played the whole time I got tutored in blueberry production.

I learned blueberries were not as fussy as people imagine. They like soil more acidic, but the owner purposely did not do much beyond the initial planting - which include  soil amendments aiming at more acid (rather than base) in the soil.

Blueberries like plenty of sun and mulch. They produce better when more than one variety is grown, like elderberries.

Roses in the Drenching Rain
We had three days of rain:

1. Tuesday was all the rain we needed.
2. Wednesday added another five inches of rain.
3. Thursday was another day of rain - perhaps another two inches.

Some might imagine that roses loved this rain. But no, it was far too much rain, too little sunshine. I hacked the KnockOut roses in half, knowing they would rebound. Most people saw all their blooms knocked off because they were spent, plus broken canes from the winds.

A bank of KnockOut roses with petals removed is a sorry sight indeed, and I saw plenty of that.

My hybrid teas looked bedraggled too. They had broken canes and blooms pushed beyond the attractive stage. I did a lot of pruning when the sun came out on Friday. I brought in vase of only six roses.

I bought a little more bargain seed and a yellow cone flower. I have no fondness for that flower, except for beneficial insects liking it.

More on Beneficial Insects
I started reading Attracting Beneficial Insects from the last page forward. I acquired this habit when I decided the back of Time magazine had a lot of easily overlooked articles. That was long ago, and I would not accept a free subscription today.

The book emphasized how important it is to have relatively undisturbed areas, which the author calls Beetle Banks. Many beetles, like fireflies, are beneficial, and they like areas just like my wild garden. Some beetles go out and search for prey all the time, and that prey includes slugs, so I was motivated to learn more.

Sunflowers are instantly good when growing, long before they flower, because they draw insects with EFN - extra flower nectar - very early after germination. We think of nectar being the the product of flowering, yes? But many flowers produce extra sweet outlets to draw insects to them for pollination.

I have to wonder - who figured this out, God or the flowers?

That is one reason why sunflowers are a necessary foundation for helping beneficial insects do their work.

A second part is the value of undisturbed sunflower stalks and roots. In New Ulm I always left the stalks up for perches for the birds during winter. My mother objected at first, but she saw the birds use the stalks rising up through the snow.

There is value in letting the roots rot back into the soil, for compost alone, but also for sheltering the beetles. Beneficial insects overwinter in leaves left on the ground. Raking, hauling, or burning them is counter-productive. Butterfly eggs are in leaf litter too.

Often wild bees use straw-like plant remains for their nests. Garden trash is good for the garden. Pulling up the weeds and finished crops or rototilling them into the soil will undo the value of those remains during the winter - especially during that time.

Here are the top ten beneficial insects. 
You do not need to be an etymologist. I certainly am not. But the saying is true - "Build a Creation garden and they will come.".

Pride Week at Martin Luther College - Gayer Than Lavender Hose

Jeff Schone never fails to make a fashion statement.

Scott Barefoot and the Second Runner Up for Synod President -
Joel "Never Read a Book" Voss

Bi-Try-Tranny: Martin Luther College is diverse.

Jon Stern breathed later.

Starr and Stern were classmates,
confusing one professor.
Scott and Dick - your sins were forgiven before you were born.
Ask Jay Webber and Jon Buchholz.

Forever Amber.

How could they possibly notice a tranny
when every male is?

How well do Schwan salesmen dance?
This well.

"Leave me alone!"
Are the donors of the Sprinted amused?

Ski posed with his wife once:
Here is proof.

This is obviously a Photoshop -
Katy is on the Forbes cover.

Rainbow.

The Jeske-Patterson Crime Family
tolerates every expression but one - straight Lutheran.

$20,000 a year to model Catholic convent school uniforms?

But Wait There's More

Sassy Made a Bed for Herself - On Mrs. Ichabod's Clothing. The Call of the Wild

Sassy rang her servant for a laugh this morning.
She must have read the recent post.

We are re-arranging the Ichabode a bit. The guest room is a convenient place to sort clothes, but the garments were knocked from the futon to the floor, two days in a row. So I asked Sassy, "Did you do that?" She could have denied it, but she got all nervous and began her mercy pose, leaning back. I wanted to comfort her, because it was no big deal. She stiff-armed me. Eventually we got back to normal. We agreed - she is the best behaved dog and simply did not leave messes.

Dogs love to claim areas for their beds. Sassy has a routine of scratching up her nest that drives us nuts at times. "Is it fluffy enough for you?" She continues to scratch up the blankets. Finally they are just right and she plops down.

Hardware and Software
We seem to be over our three days of rain and flood watches. Doubtless the low lying areas took a hit again. The squirrels were up early to enjoy some fruit for breakfast. Now that other gardeners are writing about their blueberry harvests, I am tempted to get some bushes from Almost Eden.

No matter what we do, Creation arranges itself to suit the new circumstances, within certain bounds. As someone noted, if we concede physical development of the hardware to the evolutionists--which is absurd--how does anyone account for the software, the programming of Creation?

Believing in Creation through the Word, because the Word teaches us this mystery, we can see how abundantly clear this doctrine is, wherever we look.

If people promote the monoculture of grass and bushes, they have the predestined response of Creation. They are not supporting more than robins and squirrels, so they have robins and squirrels, with a few bonus creatures.

When people shriek and spray everything that moves outdoors, pretty soon, nothing much is moving anymore.

The software built into Creation should astonish us daily. We not only have the instincts, as they say, where the animals raise their young and teach them to live on their own, but also the constant interplay between all the elements, plants, animals, micro-organisms, and weather.

LI has a certification in this process, which began with the Gannt Chart, a way to organize big projects. Microsoft sells software to facilitate this, called MS Project. But the flowers and insects are already certified in Project Managment.

When plants are hurting from pests, they send a chemical signal to alert the beneficial insects. If there is damage, most beneficial insects help by laying eggs on or near the pests. The hungry hatchlings eat the pest and the damage stops or slows down measurably. The babies grow up to be beneficial adults and often live from nectar and pollen at that point. Ladybugs are one exception, eating pests at both stages.

Common gardening lore makes a lot out of ladybugs and lacewings, but there is a vast army of beneficial insects out there. Most Beautiful Lawn and Garden methods decimate that population and people do not look for or notice the difference. One gardener, at a meeting, said he began his garden by laying down Preem, which is a poison, killing weeds and a lot more besides.

Dahlias.

Weeds are part of the plan. They are literally Guardians of the Soil - a classic book on their value. Weeds hold soil in place, mine minerals like calcium from below, and serve as havens for bees and beneficial insects. Dinnerplate Dahlias are very impressive, but tiny insects like the inconspicuous flowers of certain weeds and common flowers.

Some people want to kill weeds with toxins or pull them up and haul them away. That applies to poison ivy and truly toxic plants, but weeds are candy and nutrition for the soil.

Novice organic gardeners know that green stuff is loaded with nitrogen plants can use. Green stuff heats up the compost, killing pathogens and weed seeds. Weeds are an abudant source of green, so I let them grow to some extent and use them for beneficial insect havens and mulch.

I have plenty of ragweed and pigweed now. Ragweed is ugly but a good plant for beneficial insects. A little definitely goes a long way. Pigweed is more attractive and appropriate for Hog Country. One cancer clinic is called H.O.G. in this area - Hanson Oncology Group, to attract Arkansas fans who are ailing. Pigweed is also good for beneficial insects.

We adjusted the far backyard by trimming trees for sunshine, so it now features a group of taller varieties:

• Queen Ann's Lace
• Pigweed - already there
• Cow Vetch - already there - growing on the fence
• Butterfly Bush
• Chaste Tree
• Buckwheat
• Ragweed - already there
• Sunflowers.

I also placed logs and flat watering pans around the area to support the toads.

Fortunately I do not need to learn new software to make this work. The software is already in place. I only need to observe and learn about what is already going on before my eyes. Now, when I bend down to look closely at perfect roses, I see little creatures that protect rather than damage.

Extra Nos - Dr. Lito Cruz - Lutherans Entertaining a Bad Idea

Elizabeth Eaton is the ELCA Presiding Bishop

Lutherans entertaining a bad idea - 

By Dr. Lito Cruz

The topic of this post is the ordination of women to the pastoral office.

Women should serve in the church. There should be no question, the question is in what capacity? In what role(s)? The Lutheran Church of Australia this October 2015 will deliberate on the ordination of women to the pastoral ministry. I wonder why I have this suspicious feeling that should it pass (because it failed many years ago), some ministers, in time, would leave this synod.

I have read some arguments favouring the ordination of women. Some interesting arguments do not argue exegetically though they claim that their arguments are based on the text of Scripture. Most of these arguments are theological using Justification of the believer as the ticket for either male or female to vie for the pastoral office. In this post I will use the following lines of thought to establish my case why I do not buy into the idea of ordaining women to the ministry. I will use my training in the Biblical languages to argue exegetically, then historically and lastly behaviourally why ordaining women to the pastoral office renders Lutherans in LCA irrelevant. Amazingly when I was a Pentecostal, this was not a problem for me, why is it a problem now? Hopefully in lining up my exegetical, historical and behavioural reflections will enlighten you why I do not buy ordination of women to the pastoral office.

1. Exegetical.

The best question I believe one should ask exegetically is this - do we have texts from Scripture that women were pastors during the time of the Apostles? What were the terms used by Scripture for pastors and was this applied to any women characters mentioned in Scripture? One line of reasoning I have read is the mention of women in the house churches greeted by St Paul. In other words, since St Paul was greeting these women where house meetings are happening, they say that is proof positive that women were pastoring in the early church. What comes to mind are women mentioned in Romans 16, such as Phebe. She was called a servant of the church in Cenchrea. The word "servant" as used in the KJV  was for διάκονος, this is where we get the word deacon.  This is someone who carries out the orders of another. In fact it means attendant, someone who waits for instructions and carries them out. Yet others in favour of women's ordination latch into this and translates this word as "minister" broadening the significance of the word, thereby arguing that Phebe was a pastor too. This is not correct, the word deaconess is quite narrow, it is one who attends to the poor and distributes money collected for their use.

The there is the issue of Priscilla in Acts 18:26. Some argue that the "fact" (it is alleged) Priscilla was mentioned first in Romans 16:3, that shows that Priscilla had a dominant role between her and her husband Aquila. If one looks when these two people are named in Scripture, and we argue on the basis of first mention as being important, this argument is shot down. For in 1 Cor 16:19, in the Greek NT, Aquila was mentioned first. Now was Priscilla really mentioned first in Acts 18:26? Only if you go by an eclectic Greek NT Text, this is NOT so in the Textus Receptus(TR). In Acts 18:26, Aquila was mentioned first!  Six times Priscilla was mention in Scripture, and using your eclectic Greek NT, 3 times Priscilla comes first and other times Aquila comes first thrice. Not so in the TR, we get 4 times Aquila coming first and only twice did Priscilla get mentioned prior to Aquila. If we follow this idea, then the Women's Ordination people appears to interpret Scripture by brute force.  If carries no solid conclusion.

Then there is the allegation that Priscilla taught Apollos on her own in the home church setting! There is no such text in Scripture I can find that Priscilla ever taught anyone without Aquila being there. Such suggestion is more imagination than exegesis. You would have to have a very active imagination to suggest that Priscilla taught Apollos on her own (without the presence of her husband).

I dare say that indeed, those who promote women's ordination on the basis of house churches found in Acts are letting their imagination run wild - going forward where Scripture is silent.

So let us go back to the words used by the Bible to refer to pastors. We can name two - the first we have is episcopos επισξοπος  were we get the title Bishop or Overseer and then the word prysbeteroous πρψβετερους where we get the word Elder or Presbyter. The first word occurs in 1 Tim 3. We can rule out that St Paul ever had in mine women to be Bishops here. The reason is that he used the pronoun he, and referred to this office as a person having one wife etc. All we need is to deal with the text of Scripture and it ought to be obvious that he had no idea that this could be an either male or female role.

The other one we need to deal with is the word elder or presbyter. Now, there was the office of old widows mentoring the younger women apparently this can be found inEllicott's Commentary.   This is where this word might be applied to a woman. It is like an order in the Church. In other words, a woman who is by reason of age is a senior in the church whose job is to be a spiritual mentor to the younger women specially the younger wives. I am getting ahead of myself in discussing the historical aspect of this post, but more of that later. When St Peter and St Paul addressed the church, they used the masculine form of presbyter. Note that St Peter considered himself also as an elder in 1 Pe 5:1.

The last word is that of pastor - poimen (ποιμήν) - which is from the word "shepherd".  In Eph 4 is the only place I know where this word occurs. However, it is attached to the idea of eldership. For example St Peter in 1 Pe 5:1 instructed his fellow elders to "shepherd" the flock of God. Most of the time, that title is reserved for Jesus - who is the Good Shepherd - the real Pastor of the Church. Since Jesus is male, by analogy, elders shepherding God's people from the male population fits the parallelism well. Besides, the job of herding sheep in Bible times was never regularly performed by women. It is unlikely that St Peter had women elders too in mind when he said this about shepherding God's people.

2. Historical.

We have no surviving tradition of women holding the office of pastor in any known ancient Christian denominations from either the West or the East. I think this is a fair statement. It is probably of significant consequence. For there there is plenty of evidences of women in the priesthood of pagan cults. Correct. The pagans had no qualms in having women lead them in their religious affairs. In Ancient Egypt and Greece, women had already been in the forefront of religious leadership. It stands to reason that since pagans have female goddesses, it is natural that their priest who should mediate between the goddess and the people would be a woman akin to the goddess itself. See for example in the Eleusinian Mysteries. It is possible that this is one of those matters that made Christianity different from pagan religions - that of not having female leadership.

Then there were mention of women attending the altar around 400-500 AD. It is usually in and around a male presbyter who has become a heretic. So sure you will find some women who performed the role of priest in the churches but they were congregations with suspicious orthodoxy. You can find inscriptions of women being called presbytera but that does not mean they presided over the church as shepherd for as we said, there were these elderly women in church whose job was to teach younger women.

The most brief treatment of this issue is found here in a Christian History Institute Article.

Why we should look at history for this question? It is because the same way we treat the Canon of Scripture. For example it is known that St Paul wrote a letter to the Laodecians. What if suddenly historians found a papyri purporting to be that letter of St Paul? Are we going to rip our New Testament and make room for this letter to be included in our NT? I venture, no Christian will do such a thing. The reasons is that there is no tradition stating or which evolve to this effect that St Paul's letter to the Laodecians is Scripture. Therefore because we do not have clear evidence first from Scripture that women served as pastors (no question, the served as deacons!) neither from history (other wise we would see them operating in church, when we got born into this world of which we know the church is older than us) then in this counts it is deviant to to ordain women now in the pastoral office.

3. Behavioural.

Let us face it women are numerous in church than men. Let us for the sake of argument we ordained women into the pastoral office. Then yet again, that is one more reason for men to abdicate their duty and console their conscience leading them to further laziness, cowardice and indifference to the call for ministry. As a man, I know how to reason and make excuses. Hey wait there is one keen woman here who wants to do the work, problem solved, just let her do it just like she does at home. We go sit in the couch and watch TV.

I cannot pin point what are the motivations of these present male ministers advocating for women in the pastoral office - is it really because they see it in Scripture? I am finding it hard to believe this because most arguments I have seen were either dramatical, emotional or bereft of fair even handed exegesis. Or something else is motivating this, perhaps a hero complex?  Yeah sure ladies, I will advocate for you to be in the pastorate, I will be your hero, we got equal rights in the church too.

Often times I see Roman Catholic apologists hurling insults at Lutherans along this line - how dare they say they are more catholic than us Romans?

Well, when the Lutherans start ordaining women into the pastorate - I'd say they have left catholicism itself. They lose their right to claim a return to the catholicism that is Biblical and Evangelical. Certainly such a synod is not catholic anymore.

Louise Johnson - Third Woman To Head an ELCA Seminary

The various biographies do not mention Louise being married,
having any academic qualifications beyond an MDiv,
or full-time pastoral experience.
No spouse is listed in the bio or the Google searches.

Louise Johnson begins term as 14th president of Wartburg Theological Seminary

ELCA News

The Rev. Louise N. Johnson began her term June 17 as the 14th president of Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. The Wartburg Theological Seminary Board of Directors elected Johnson at its spring meeting. Wartburg is one of the ELCA's eight seminaries.

"President Johnson has long and wide-ranging experience in theological education administration," said Jonathan Strandjord, ELCA program director for seminaries who also serves as an advisory member for ELCA seminary presidential search committees. "She has been a leader in imagining and building fresh ways of identifying and educating new leaders for the church – and then paying close attention to the results of those efforts. Her track record of fostering collaboration is strong. Most important of all, she is passionate about faithfully serving the free course of the gospel," he said. [GJ - Were any cliches omitted?]

"Wartburg grew out of a mission tradition, out of the hearts of compassionate leaders who saw that those in their midst were 'scattered like sheep without shepherds,'" said Johnson, referring to early leaders of Wartburg, including Wilhelm Loehe, a German missionary who helped found the seminary in 1854 and whose legacy remains rooted in the seminary's mission.

"Today the frontiers to which Loehe sent his pastors are largely established. The gospel took root in our towns, in our hearts, in our lives, blessing us with generations who have heard the gospel and responded with lives of faith," Johnson said. "A good look around will tell you that we have new frontiers, that again there are many in our midst who are scattered like sheep without shepherds. But the frontiers are no longer out there somewhere, they are in our own back yards.  It is our neighbors, friends, co-workers and grandchildren who stand in need of a new church, new ways of proclaiming the old, old story," she said.

Prior to her election, Johnson had served as vice president for mission advancement at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia since 2012 and as associate director of admissions from 2006 to 2012. She served as associate director of admissions at Wartburg from 1999 to 2004 and as pastor of Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Spragueville, Iowa, from 2000 to 2004.

Johnson received a Bachelor of Arts in German from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, in 1991 and a Master of Divinity degree from Wartburg in 1999.

Johnson, who is the third woman to lead an ELCA seminary, said she is "confident that together we can and will build a new emergency plan to reach those on the new frontiers. Wartburg is nimble, faithful, cohesive, missional – and more than these – is ready to serve God and church."

- See more at: http://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/blogs/NewsBlog/90#sthash.MQv4Oghq.dpuf

Robin Steinke is the president of Luther Seminary.
Her installation, which I watched, looked like a funeral,
with a poorly attended, elderly, spiritless service.
Spouse comes up missing as a term in a Google search.

A Certain Person Wrote on a Certain Facebook Page about a Certain Blog

Published by Mattress Room Press, Mequon.
When Scott's lover died of AIDS, he publicly mourned the loss.
That is UOJ repentance.

Scott Barefoot contacted me in Bella Vista and invited himself to speak to our online congregation. I imagine that is how he thrusts himself into many parishes. When I reported what he told me, that a WELS pastor, and active homosexual, was in the parish and nothing was being done, Scott retreated. I did not hear from him again.

One does not stalk a Facebook page. Those WELS photos were published for the entire world to see.
Publishing has a very close relationship with the word "public."

Welcome to the Jeske-Patterson Crime Family.

Ski uplifted Scott.
Let's face it, Ski was grinning a lot more about Katy Perry.

Ski uplifted.

When the Storm Clouds Roll, Plant More Seed

We had another five inches of rain as a bonus, after the generous rain yesterday. Now the backyard has plenty of standing water, a good-sized pond besides.

A third storm is rolling in. We heard the initial cloudburst at Walmart. When the sun came out, Sassy ordered her second walk for the day. When we came back, rain began again.

I gave the birds some older berries that were not yet eaten. I never see them as wasted. We keep fresh fruit for humans and share the older fruit with the birds. I filled the platform with fruit and saw a blue jay land for some soon after. He was soaking wet.

At Walmart I bought low cost seeds, Alyssum was only 20 cents. Nasturtium was 50 cents. Shasta Daisy - high on my list - was 50 cents. This time I used the rake to pull back some mulch, sow, and tamp it back in place.

Sweet alyssum is easily grown from surface-sown seeds (the seeds need light to germinate), and transplants are a common find at garden centers in the spring. Because of its tendency to self-sow, sweet alyssum has become naturalized across much of the United States and is recognized in California as potentially invasive. Each year I plant sweet alyssum at the top of my rock retaining wall as I enjoy it cascading over the wall’s edge. I especially like the frothy white blooms in the evening when their color reflects the fading light and their fragrance is the sweetest. Sweet alyssum also finds a home each year beneath my roses. It is attractive to several species of parasitic wasps

Walliser, Jessica (2014-02-26). Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control (Kindle Locations 2453-2459). Timber Press. Kindle Edition. 

The flowers of Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum ×superbum) provide shelter, pollen, and nectar to natural enemies, including this ladybug larva.

Walliser, Jessica (2014-02-26). Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control (Kindle Locations 2397-2398). Timber Press. Kindle Edition. 

Now that the barrels, wheelbarrow, and mopbucket are full and overflowing with rainwater, it does not seem so valuable. A few days ago I was scraping the bottom of the barrels to help the laggard plants.

When God gives us abundance, we take it for granted and even scoff at it, like gardeners who plant  too many zucchini squash, as they always do.  When there is a shortage - as there is today - of liturgy, creeds, hymns, sermons, common sense, character, and honesty - we realize what that drought really means. Unlike the rain, which comes back again, these expressions of faith do not return as easily as they are cast away.

Luther Answers Those Who Mock the Faithians. Ignorance Is Leadership Bliss in the LCMS, WELS, and ELS.

The droopey-eyed, slack-jawed graduates of Concordia Seminary, Ft. Wayne, enjoy using their handful of insults against justification by faith. They used to say, before they retreated to lick their festering wounds, "You are not Christians. You are faithians. You do not believe in Christ. You believe in your own faith."

David Scaer, who confuses logical fallacies with wisdom, is one source of these Dephic pronouncements, like the graphic below.

Dontcha wonder how these wonder-boys keep their jobs teaching at nominal Lutheran schools? I certainly do.

When I became a Lutheran in my teens, there was great excitement over Luther, the new edition of Luther's Works (edited by Pelikan), and Roland Bainton's Here I Stand.

Later I was happy to know Pelikan, who attended the congregation where I worked, and Roland Bainton, who lectured at Yale Divinity and helped me on my dissertation at Notre Dame. Bainton was a prolific author, who out-produced and out-sold many of the academic blowhards I have known. But Bainton offered to xerox pages for me, assuming I did not have a key book for my research.

Pelikan left the Lutheran sects - and I have trouble blaming him - and Bainton remained on the Left side of Protestantism, but they were keenly interested in Luther's teaching, whether they were always right or not.

The LCMS-WEL-ELS coalition is in free-fall because they have no interest in Luther or an honest approach to Biblical studies. Moreover, they are anti-historical about their idol CFW Walther, a convenient tool for their agenda. They cannot even face what Robert Preus did at the end of his life, in Justification and Rome, repudiating UOJ.

Walther is handy because he was poorly trained and abused by two different gurus of Pietism, Johann Gottlief Kuehn and Martin Stephan (when Kuehn died). Walther's study of Luther is no distinction, since all Protestants study Luther, if only to distort his writings and argue against him.

I can only imagine these pretenders winking at each other as they cite Walther - the ultimate authority, even though Walther pimped for his adulterous bishop. kiddnapped his own niece and nephew, and robbed his syphilitic bishop of everything--gold, books, land--once they had a phony shock story and followers to march with torches and guns. The great Walther let his future mother-in-law go to prison for the kidnapping. No wonder he did not want an early history written down and feared the first attempt was too detailed. No problem - the cult protects their own criminals while attacking their victims. Ask Ski, Glende, Disappearing Doug, and Mark Schroeder.

Cameron McKenzie claims, as the LCMS does, that his sect did not begin until 1847, but they began when Stephan ordered them and his mistresses into ships to sail to America. When they left Europe for America, seeing themselves as the only Means of Grace in Europe, they formed the triumphalistic, legalistic Missouri Synod. The date? - 1838.

LCMS-WELS-ELS are Rambachian, not Lutheran.

Pruning Shears on the KnockOut Roses. Downton Sassy Sue

"More rain! What? Three days and a flood warning?"

After rain on Tuesday and before our heavy showers on Wednesday, I went out side and cut all the KnockOut roses by 50%. They were already nearly six feet tall and were finishing a bloom cycle. By cutting them back harshly, before plenty of rain, I was converting all the bush energy to budding instead of finishing up their blooms with seeds.

A few other roses needed some trimming.

All the Father' Day roses are blooming now - in a circle around the maple tree in front. They are various colors because Gurney's does not guarantee what they send when they are $5 bare root roses.

The same is true of bulbs. Those who want the lowest prices get a rainbow collection of tulips, but tulips are far more impressive with a massive group of one color, or a color combination.

Weather Drama
Last night's rain meant black skies while the sun was shining and cloudbursts alternating with steady rain. Tuesday's rain was enough, and Wednesday's rain was way too much by itself.

The weather map for today says that we will have a big thunderstorm at 1 PM. Two different storms on radar seem to be coming from the West and up from Texas.

The birds ate frantically yesterday, even in the rain. The Jackson EZ Bird Swing often had a bird sitting there to stay out of the rain. The swing is under the eaves. Sharon Lovejoy, I believe, suggested that birdhouses are good shelters for birds in cold weather, so I may put some spare old shelves out under the eaves for a dry roost.

Downton Shepherd
The key image for Downton Abbey is the bell being rung to call a servant.

Sassy Sue decided to call for her servants by dragging her claws across the maple table near the bed. At first she did that when I was not looking. I pretended to be shocked when I found the source of the strange noise and she was a bit intimidated. When she saw that I was laughing, that became her little joke.

Now Sassy routinely uses her call system to notify me of her needs. Of course, she has these other tools:

• The neck cuddle means I identified what she wanted.
• Licking her lips and looking toward the kitchen. Ears pop up at the sound of "Food?"
• Perching on the corner of the bed, ready to take a walk.
• Drooping on the bed, still waiting for the walk.
• The Bad Daddy speech, a series of loud sad barks, is always from a failure to walk her on time.

When we are sharing the joke together, it is so much fun.

The landscaper living nearby said, "I never saw a dog that talked so much."

Several times Sassy has pouted. Once I gave a long speech about her not wanting to turn around or acknowledge us. She finally flipped over and grinned, looking for a tummy rub. This week she got a shampoo outside and a much-needed comb out. She refused to look at me that night, but made up for it the next night.

Sassy normally goes to us separately for hugs and kisses before she goes to the foot of the bed to sleep.

More Emergent Congregations in WELS - Denying the Name, Denying the Faith

From Brett Meyer -

Latest post - Ichabod and WELS Documented.

Missing from the WELS church list are these two emergent churches:

http://www.carbonchurch.com/

OUR STORY

CVL is a new church plant located in Carbon Valley (Firestone, Frederick, & Dacono).  Why Carbon Valley?  Our goal is to bring the saving message of Jesus to our vibrant, growing, new community.  Everyone is from somewhere, and many are without a local church to be strengthened in God's Word.  Our Mission at CVL is:  Loving Christ (Worship)...Learning from God's Word (Grow)...and Living for our Community (Serve).  Formal worship begins September 13th, 2015.  For now we continue to meet in homes as we organize and encourage one another.  For the most up to date information, sign up for our "Carbon Connection," email Pastor Tim at pastor@carbonchurch.com, or text Pastor Tim at 720.833.8873.

"I will put my Spirit in you and you will live."  Ezekiel 37:14

http://www.eternalrock.org/

Eternal Rock  is a collection of families and singles who live in the Castle Rock, Parker, and Larkspur areas.  We have one goal.  We want a church that seeks to follow Jesus and live his love.   We feel the best way to do that is take our faith to the streets and grow in our faith through Bible Study and Worship.  

We are about 80 adults strong right now and meet every Sunday for worship and during the week for Bible study.  Our first monthly service was in  May of 2011 and weekly church  started September 11, 2011 at the Castle Rock Middle school (2575 Meadows Pkwy, Castle Rock).  Do you want to know more or would you like to be part of our efforts?   Email Pastor Oldenburg here.  

ETERNAL ROCK--Our name comes from the Bible in Isaiah 26:4. It says, "Trust in the LORD always for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock."  (NLT)

The OWLs are asking,
"Who? Who? Who? Who?"

WELS Documented on Blended Services in WELS. Baby Steps Away from the Liturgy. Valleskey, Kelm, and Olson Have Won

Illumine Mocks the Trinity

http://welsdocument.blogspot.com/2015/07/are-blended-services-future-of-wels.html

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Are "Blended" Services the Future of WELS?

50% of the 160 WELS churches randomly surveyed use a mixture of
blended, contemporary, or modern in their worship service.

Blended worship that works (Forward in Christ Article)
Blending the gospel-proclaiming forms of the church’s past with musical styles that are part of the church’s present may help us spread the message of Christ into the future. Some people call it blended worship. It brings together worship forms that have been tested and tried in Christian churches for centuries and joins them to contemporary musical styles. Blended worship is one way Lutheran churches can retain public worship’s historic emphasis on gospel proclamation and at the same time accompany that proclamation with music many people understand and enjoy.

The churches that are contemporary tend to use the words: Real - Relational - Relevant

Whereas, churches that are traditional use the words: Reverent - Sacred - Historical

The majority of the churches that have "blended" worship services use these words, or something very similar, in describing their service: Our worship uses traditional forms blended with contemporary songs, modern language, and application. The traditional brings us the best that has been used by God’s church throughout the ages and the contemporarybrings God’s promises and his will into our daily lives. We hope you enjoy both!

Many of the churches that are very traditional go into detail as to the importance of liturgy and what it means on their web sites. 

	Traditional	Contemporary	Modern	Blended
Abiding Grace; Covington GA	x
Abiding Love; Cape Coral FL			Alt	x
Abiding Love; Loveland, CO				x
Abiding Savior; Killeen TX	x
Abiding Word; Dothan, AL	x
Amazing Grace; Florence KY				x
Amazing Grace; Myrtle Beach, SC				x
Amazing Love; Frankfort IL		x
Apostles; San Jose CA	x	x
Ascension; Sarasota FL				x
Atonement; Plano TX	x
Beautiful Savior; Austin, MN	x
Beautiful Savior; Everett WA				eclectic
Beautiful Savior; Fayetteville, NC				x
Beautiful Savior; Grove City, OH				x
Beautiful Savior; Marietta, GA				x
Bethany; Appleton, WI	x	x
Bethany; Saginaw, MI				x
Bethlehem; Oshkosh WI	x
Brooklyn Lutheran; Brooklyn Park, MN				x
Calvary; Sheboygan, WI				x
Christ Lutheran; Eagle River, WI	x	x
Christ Lutheran; Lodi CA	x
Christ Our Rock; Rochester, MN				x
Christ the King; Palatine, IL	x
Christ the King; Palm Coast, FL				x
Christ the Rock; Round Rock TX		x
Christ the Vine; Temecula, CA	x
Cross of Christ; Boise, ID	x
Cross of Christ; Universal City, TX				x
Cross of Glory; Peoria, AZ				x
Crossroads; Chicago IL				x
Crosswalk; Laveen, AZ		x
Crown of Glory; Orlando, FL				x
Darlington; Ann Arbor, MI	x
Divine Peace; Largo, MD	x
Divine Savior; Doral, FL	x
Emanuel First; Lansing, MI	x
Emmanuel; Hudson WI				x
Emmanuel; Tempe, AZ	x
Emmaus; Phoenix, AZ				x
Eternal Love; Appleton, WI				x
Faith; Anchorage, AK	x
Faith; Anderson, CA	x
Faith; Antioch, IL	x
Faith; Pittsburg, KS	x
Faith; Sharpsburg, GA	x
Faith; Tallahassee, FL	x
First Evangelical; La Crescent MN	x			x
First Evangelical; La Crosse, WI	x
Gloria Dei; Belmont, CA	x
Good Shepherd; Alma, MI	x
Good Shepherd; Jacksonville, FL	x
Good Shepherd; Phoenix, AZ	x
Good Shepherd; Saint Peters, MO				x
Good Shepherd; West Allis, WI	x	x
Grace; Casa Grande, Az	x
Grace; Falls Church, VA	x	x
Grace; Kenai, AK	x
Grace; Milwaukee, WI				x
Grace; Neenah, WI	x			x
Grace; Safford, AZ	x
Grace; Waukesha WI	x
Grace; Yakima, WA				x
Grace; Yorba Linda CA	x
Holy Scripture; Fort Wayne, IN	x
Hope; Hampton, GA	x
Hope; Irmo, SC				x
Hope; Oconomowoc, WI		x
Hope; West Palm Beach, FL	x	x
Illumine; Rock Hill, SC			x
Immanuel; Lakeside, AZ	x
Immanuel; Manitowoc, WI	x	x
Immanuel; Salem, OR	x
Immanuel; Taylor, AZ	x
Jerusalem; Morton Grove, IL	x
King of Kings Garden Grove, CA	x
Lamb of God; Lafayette, IN	x
Lamb of God; Madison, AL				x
Lamb of God; Phoenix, AZ				x
Light of Life; Greenwood, IN	x
Light of the World; Fairbanks, AK	x
Living Promise; Morristown TN				x
Living Word; Mission Viejo, CA	x
Lord of Life; Thornton CO	x
Messiah; Alpharetta, GA	x	x
Messiah; Nampa, ID	x	x
Messiah; Wichita KS	x
Mighty Fortress; Hiram, GA	x
Morning Star; Jackson, WI	x	x
Mount Calvary; Flagstaff, AZ				x
Mount Calvary; Redding, CA	x
Mount Calvary; Waukesha, WI	x	x
Mount Olive; Green Bay, WI				x
Mountain View; Calgar‎y AB				x
New Hope; Melbourne, Fl				x
New Life; Lake Zurich, IL				x
Open Bible; Oxford FL	x
Our Savior; Phillips WI				x
Our Savior; Port Orange, FL				x
Palos Lutheran; Palos Heights, IL				x
Peace; Cottonwood, AZ				x
Peace; Eagle River, AK				x
Pilgrim; Minneapolis, MN	x	x
Prince of Peace; Howell MI
Prince of Peace; Martinez, GA	x
Prince of Peace; Yuma, AZ	x
Redeemer; Tucson, AZ
Reformation; San Diego, CA	x	x
Risen Savior; Chula Vista, CA	x
Risen Savior; Navarre, FL				x
Risen Savior; Pooler, GA				x
River of Life; Goodyear, AZ	x
Salem; Ann Arbor, MI	x
Salem; Milwaukee, WI				x
Salem; Stillwater, MN	x	x
Saving Grace; Mobile, AL				x
Shepherd of the Hills; Tuscon, AZ	x	x
Shining Mountains; Bozeman MT				x
Sola Fide; Lawrenceville, GA	x
St Andrew; Middleton, WI				x
St John; Battle Creek, MI	x
St John; Manitowoc, WI	x
St John; Montello, WI	x	x
St John; Newark, DE	x
St John; Sleepy Eye, MN				x
St John; Two Rivers, WI	x			x
St John; Westland, MI	x	x
St Lucas; Kewaskum, WI				x
St Lucas; Milwaukee, WI	x	x		x
St Mark; Citrus Heights, CA				x
St Mark; De Pere, WI	x	x
St Matthew; Stoddard, WI				x
St Matthew; Winona, MN	x	x
St Paul; Fort Atkinson, WI	x	x
St Paul; Mauston WI				x
St Paul; Muskego, WI	x	x
St Paul; North Hollywood, CA				x
St Paul; Prescott, WI				x
St Paul; Slinger, WI	x	x
St Paul; Stevensville, MI				x
St. Paul; Wisconsin Rapids, WI	x	x
St Peter; Appleton, WI	x	x
St Peter; Fort Collins CO				x
St Peter; Milwaukee, WI				x
St Peters; Sturgeon Bay, WI	x
St Stephen; Fallbrook, CA	x
Star of Bethlehem; New Berlin, WI	x	x
Summerlin; Las Vegas, NV				x
The Bridge; Muskego, WI			x
The Core; Appleton, WI		x
Trinity; Abita Springs, LA	x
Trinity; Sierra Vista, AZ	x
Trinity; Waukesha, WI	x	x
Victory; Jacksonville, FL				x
Victory; Lexington KY	x
Victory of the Lamb; Franklin, WI			x
Water of Life; Las Vegas, NV				x
Zion; Arlington WI				x
Zion; Chesaning, MI				x

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