Veterans' Day - Veterans' Honor Rose

Veterans' Honor rose has been called
the ultimate red rose, a good way to remember
and thank our military service members.

Veterans' Day reminds me of our friend in Columbus who ran out of the LST for each beach landing in the Pacific, carrying a smoke pot to disguise and protect his fellow soldiers. Norm Woehrle is still alive, in his 90s.

I think of classmates from Moline, living and dead, who served in Viet Nam.

At the reunion previous to the 50th, we had dinner with Dave and Linda Pearson. He had a previous health crisis and passed into eternal life not long after that.

Recently, cousin Peter Ellenberger was honored by his peers in the military, just weeks before he passed away. Phone calls to Pete and Helene were routinely fun, even though he had many health problems. We are so glad he was so pleasantly surprised and uplifted by those in uniform.

Someone - not I - won a trophy with
these Veterans' Honor roses.

Now on Amazon Introduction to the Christian Faith: Jesus Priceless Treasure. Kindle Edition Available

Introduction to the Christian Faith - Print Edition.
Introduction to the Christian Faith - Kindle E-book Edition

I am moving most of the Lulu books over to Amazon. This is the Amazon author page for Gregory L. Jackson. The author page needs some revising, but that will have to wait.

This book was originally published with the current title as the subtitle, the sub-title as the title. Although that causes a bit of confusion, the fact is, the Net picks up on the main title, so I decided to feature the substance of the book, a basic book about the Christian Faith.

For those who like Kindle for their mobile devices and quoting, the best approach is to get Kindle Unlimited for $10 a month and download all the Kindle books you want, even mine, for that tiny sum. $10 a month covers every book listed under Kindle Unlimited - and include all mine in that category.

These publications do not generate direct cash for me. I built in $1 profit for each one to keep prices low, as my personal email suggests - edlp - Every Day Low Prices. At the moment I am putting together three boxes of books to give away to people who showed an interest in my books and some classic Lutheran books.

The goal is to influence others to concentrate on reliable Bibles - like the KJV family - and the best Gospel theologians - Luther, Melanchthon, and Chemnitz.

Introduction to the Christian Faith
A sainted member of Bethany Lutheran Church asked me to write a book about the basics of the Christian faith, so that anyone could study it and get a Scriptural understanding of Christianity.

My other books are about specific topics, such as the efficacy of the Word and Creation. Introduction to the Christian Faith is more general and basic, centered on the Person and work of Jesus Christ the Savior.

Each section deals with Scripture and many include hymn quotations as well.

The print is large and the book is illustrated by Norma Boeckler.

The Next Two Books
I am finishing The Lost Dutchman's Goldmine and then completing Creation Gardening.

I am planning some shorter works in the future, on single topics, like commercialism in the church, the Heidelberg Disputation, 1518, etc.

Free and Low-Cost Books
I favor sending books to people at the astonishingly low author's price, especially in bulk. I can complete an order of various titles, various numbers of each book, in a few minutes. They arrive faster than Amazon promises. Introduction to the Christian Faith is only $3.50 at the author's price.

Those who want to order Christmas gifts might consider ordering via the author's price. Just send an email for an estimate  and mail a check to cover that amount plus shipping.

Free books are given away all the time, because some people have sent gifts to cover free books. The idea is to share printed books, which are kept for a long period of time, and let the Word of God take effect. Matthew 13 has a Parable about the Sower and the Seed, and Paul offered a similar analogy.

I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 1 Corinthians 3:15 KJV

I Had To Harvest a Queen Elizabeth Rose, Came in with Five Other Varieties. November 10, 2016

Falling in Love is harboring a little spider;
no toxins mean the beneficial bugs do the work for me.

Fragrant Cloud is on the lower right:
one bud will fill the room with rose fragrance.

Fragrant Cloud shows off a high-pointed bud and bloom

The group photo has Falling in Love on top,
Veterans Honor, Tropicana, and Barbra Streisand in the back,
Queen Elizabeth in front on the left,
Fragrant Cloud on the lower right.

This is either Barbra Streisand or another purple
rose from the first collection we bought for $8 each.

Collections of roses open up our minds about favorite roses. I have had to itch to grow many varieties, but the best surprises came from three group purchases, sight unseen. The first was a TV offer that included Falling in Love, Easy Does It, and Barbra Streisand.

The other two included Europeana, Bride's Dream, Purple Splash, Hot Cocoa, and some others we love.

Secrets of Growing Roses
I promised FB friends that I would reveal my secrets for growing splendid roses. So here they are, soon to be developed in my upcoming book, Creation Gardening.

The title gives away my secrets hiding in plain sight, like the purloined letter of Sherlock Holmes. Nevertheless, the garden chemical industry and lazy gardening writers have obscured the obvious. I will just outline these secrets for now.

• I assume God created and engineered every single living creature and all elements in our universe, commanding them into existence through His Creating Word - the Logos - as revealed in Genesis 1 and John 1.
• Every living thing has a purpose, so knowing and using this purpose is the way to enjoy beautiful, productive flowers and food plants.
• Killing insects with chemicals means killing all the beneficial bugs and spiders while harming the soil and adding toxins to the water table.
• Leaving pests alone will let the pest-eaters (beneficial bugs, spiders, toads, birds) fill up and reproduce where they are needed most. Very important for roses!
• Killing fungus (blackspot) works as well as killing weeds, but worst of all, kills beneficial fungus in the soil. Not smart.
• Killing all weeds is dumb because weeds can be harnessed to feed and harbor birds. Every weed does something good, but they are not always welcome and can be pulled or covered over for building compost.
• Stored rainwater is a great blessing for all plants, especially roses, so every effort should be made to gather a supply when it rains.

The Four Noble Truths of Rose Gardening

1. Red wiggler earthworms build, tunnel, and mix the soil, allowing water to penetrate more easily and benefit the plants. They should be purchased and added to every lawn and garden.
2. Organic mulch improves soil, turns into compost on the spot, holds water, harbors beneficial bugs and spiders, and prevents wind erosion. 
3. Pruning follows the truth of John 15:1-10. The deadwood must be cut away. The productive branches must be trimmed to make them even more productive. Lazy non-pruners put their roses to sleep by letting them go to seed. 
4. Roses are not a member of the cactus family, so they are especially vulnerable to drying out or over-watering. They need rainwater first of all, stored water second, and extra watering when those are not available. One good soak a week is necessary.

I ended up with two Hot Cocoa plants for $5 each
last year, when they were in short supply.