Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Straw Bale Garden Set Up - Lincoln Town Car Strewn with Straw


Iberia Bank

First, some recent Sassy  banking tales are in order.

We were dropping off something at the bank, using the drive-through, with Sassy's favorite teller smiling at her. Sassy got a treat immediately. Mrs. Ichabod and I were talking to the teller when Sassy let out her loudest bark. The teller stood up at attention, saluted, and gave Sassy a second treat. We laughed and Sassy got her third treat. She grins when we talk about her.

Soon I was at the bank again, with Sassy in the back seat behind me. She thinks we bank for treats, so I had her window lowered as I drove up, always using the bank's window rather than a remote post. Sassy watched carefully and let out her command bark - right into the bank's speaker. Everyone inside jumped, including the new male teller.

I watched him as he solemnly took the deposit, filled out the slip, and came back. He could not stop smiling when he said, "Your dog is so smart, she is getting two treats."



Lowe's 

Sassy and I dropped off Mrs. I at the chiropractor's today. We headed down to Lowe's, where Sassy has always been welcome. The outside entrance to the garden center was closed, so we had to go back and forth, with Sassy on a leash, to get the straw ordered and paid for. Someone began chatting up Sassy, so our dog let out her happy bark, several times.

Our helper's wife has promoted the happy bark, and it really fits Sassy. But this time several Lowe's suits--or rather tool-belts--came over to have Sassy removed. I was curious. She was always welcome before. However, FDA inspectors were there when a dog barked, so they fined Lowe's. They were quite nice and let me continue with the idea we were leaving after paying for the straw. Sassy became very quiet until another lady walked over to greet her. Big yelp! That scared the lady away, which was probably good for us.

I ordered six straw bales, which cost $6 each, but there is a lot of difference between bagged mulch and straw bales barely held together with string. They stuffed two into the trunk and one into the front seat, getting straw everywhere. We labored home and went back for the last three, which went in faster since the mess was already there.



The New Straw Bale Garden

Our helper came over, warned that straw bales would be arriving by Lincoln Town Car. He was impressed. "I never knew about this. I am learning all the time."

The idea is to lay them on a weed barrier (please, not landscaper's cloth or plastic - only a paper or cardboard product). The bales are soaked for two weeks to get the decomposition going. One site had the gardener adding all kinds of fertilizer and "soil" amendments. I find those directions to be odd, bizarre, and counter-productive. However, God can make things grow in spite of us.

The key events will be

  • the growth of fungus, which feeds roots, and 
  • the invasion of soil creatures, who capture and fix nutrients in the growth zone.

My main interest is growing and harvesting potatoes with ease. I will try some strawberries and use the idea of growing small flowers from the sides of the bales.

If this works out well, I will double the bales next year. And if not, I will have a lot of compost this year.



God's Creation in the Straw Bales

Notice that all I have to do is put straw bales on top of soil to have an elevated garden, almost instantly. The reasons are plain. The creatures are designed to do this work and will do it whenever given the opportunity.

Straw is dead plant material, just waiting for water to speed up its inevitable decomposition. Soil creatures are opportunistic, looking for food even while serving as food. When the straw stops heating up, earthworms will wiggle up and provide even more benefits to the work of the fungi, bacteria, and protozoa.

So I continue to marvel that ordained clergy can ignore the same kind of work in the broadcasting of the Word of God. His Promises are attached to the Spirit at work in the Word, and they will affect the recipients, whether they listen and believe or harden their hearts against it.

Like the seed that falls to the ground, the Word will take root and grow, multiply, and provide for generations to come.

Man's wisdom about spiritual matters (entertain, set goals, raise lots of money)  is very much like bad gardening advice. Enough of it will kill plants in gardening and murder souls in church work. Rose fertilizer (made special for your roses) killed my aunt's roses, because her husband doubled the dose.

The Church Shrinkers will not tell their denominations how many congregations they have closed, how many they have divided and polarized. They will never admit to murdering souls, which is their main work. How could they tell, since they have no faith?  They are the seed fallen by the wayside and plucked up by birds.



Luther knows all about these people:

II. THE DISCIPLES OF THIS WORD.

2. The first class of disciples are those who hear the Word but neither understand nor esteem it. And these are not the mean people in the world, but the greatest, wisest and the most saintly, in short they are the greatest part of mankind; for Christ does not speak here of those who persecute the Word nor of those who fail to give their ear to it, but of those who hear it and are students of it, who also wish to be called true Christians and to live in Christian fellowship with Christians and are partakers of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. But they are of a carnal heart, and remain so, failing to appropriate the Word of God to themselves, it goes in one ear and out the other. Just like the seed along the wayside did not fall into the earth, but remained lying on the ground in the wayside, because the road was tramped hard by the feet of man and beast and it could not take root.

3. Therefore Christ says the devil cometh and taketh away the Word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. What power of Satan this alone reveals, that hearts, hardened through a worldly mind and life, lose the Word and let it go, so that they never understand or confess it; but instead of the Word of God Satan sends false teachers to tread it under foot by the doctrines of men. For it stands here written both that it was trodden under foot, and the birds of the heaven devoured it. The birds Christ himself interprets as the messengers of the devil, who snatch away the Word and devour it, which is done when he turns and blinds their hearts so that they neither understand nor esteem it, as St. Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:4: “They will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables.” By the treading under foot of men Christ means the teachings of men, that rule in our hearts, as he says in Matthew 5:13 also of the salt that has lost its savor, it is cast out and trodden under foot of men; that is, as St. Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2:11, they must believe a lie because they have not been obedient to the truth.

4. Thus all heretics, fanatics and sects belong to this number, who understand the Gospel in a carnal way and explain it as they please, to suit their own ideas, all of whom hear the Gospel and yet they bear no fruit, yea, more, they are governed by Satan and are harder oppressed by human institutions than they were before they heard the Word. For it is a dreadful utterance that Christ here gives that the devil taketh away the Word from their hearts, by which he clearly proves that the devil rules mightily in their hearts, notwithstanding they are called Christians and hear the Word.

Likewise it sounds terribly that they are to be trodden under foot, and must be subject unto men and to their ruinous teachings, by which under the appearance and name of the Gospel the devil takes the Word from them, so that they may never believe and be saved, but must be lost forever; as the fanatical spirits of our day do in all lands. For where this Word is not, there is no salvation, and great works or holy lives avail nothing, for with this, that he says: “They shall not be saved,” since they have not the Word, he shows forcibly enough, that not their works but their faith in the Word alone saves, as Paul says to the Romans: “It is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” Romans 1:16.




Garlic, Roses, Spinach, and Bulbs

Garlic cloves have shot up above the soil level, growing from the late fall planting in 2014.  Spinach is still tiny but green. I cannot brag about them surviving all the cold, snow, and ice, because we had none. I still have a bag of snow-melt in the trunk and a brand new snow shovel.

One rose bush has already come out of dormancy and grown a leaf. The canes are greening up. Bulb flowers are just starting to send leaves into the sun, pumping up my gardening self-esteem.

Today we cleaned up a lot of twigs and branches that fell from the maple last winter.


WELS Sends Their DUI Clergy to the Ukraine, Moves DPs to Another District, and Get the Evidence Erased for Worship Professors Who Chuckle at Choir Practice Sodomy

Didn't PR Schori and the bishop consecrate Heather Cook,
both of them knowing Heather was three sheets
to the wind at the consecration dinner celebration?


NEW YORK: Presiding Bishop further restricts ministry of Heather Cook
"You shall not hold yourself out as an ordained person of this Church in good standing"
Media Release
Episcopal News Service
February 10, 2015

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori today issued a formal canonical Restriction on Ordained Ministry directed to the Rt. Rev. Heather Cook, Bishop Suffragan of Maryland.
This Restriction was issued as part of the Episcopal Church's Title IV disciplinary process. The Restriction provides:
Pursuant to Canons IV.7(3), (4) and IV.17(2) of this church, I hereby place the following restrictions on your ordained ministry:

You shall not exercise or engage in the ordained ministry of this Church in any respect, shall not participate in any functions of the House of Bishops, and shall not hold yourself out as an ordained person of this Church in good standing, until such time as all matters relating to you that are pending before a panel of the Disciplinary Board of Bishops shall have been finally resolved.

Presiding Bishop Schori knew she was consecrating
an out of control drunk.
The 2010 DUI blood sample suggested
12+ alcoholic drinks had been downed.
Schori to Cook, "You are not even WELS."

In her notice, the Presiding Bishop indicates, "This restriction is being placed upon your ordained ministry because information has been received by the Intake Officer that indicates that you may have committed one or more offenses under Canon IV.4 as a result of your alleged criminal conduct in connection with an automobile accident on December 27, 2014 and misrepresentations you allegedly made to persons in the Diocese of Easton and in connection to your candidacy for the episcopate in the Diocese of Maryland regarding your experience with alcohol.
The Restriction takes effect immediately.

END

***

GJ - The Episcopal leaders are much stricter than WELS. The Wisconsin sect allowed Stolzenburg to play the role of a pastor, did nothing to stop it, constantly encouraged it, and endorsed him (via Paul Kuske and Robert Schumann) for the job at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio. Paul Kuske, who endorsed Stolzenburg, denied at a meeting that he or anyone else in WELS had anything to do with Floyd's hiring.

Floyd left quite a stench in WELS, so the "confessional" ELS adopted him, via Thoughts of Faith, John Shep and His Eminence Jay Webber.


Straw Bales Today - Carrots on the Way.
Total Carrot Seeds Raised Back to 7,000



Baling Out - Bailing In
This early summer weather is driving me crazy. Our helper wants to get going, and we have two weeks of frost left. I know - "Cry me a river." Our friends in Boston and Maine are buried, and we are in shirtsleeves.

This is a good time to weather the straw bales and use up some newspapers. The straw bales will be used in the sunny garden, the hottest, sunniest place in the yard, south east corner. I grew a terrific crop of crabgrass there last summer, with last minute tomatoes thriving in that jungle. We mowed down the crabgrass and mulched that with tomato remains.

The weeds came from wood mulch without a newspaper base. Crab grass comes up late, so my idea of pre-emergent weed control is darkness caused by newspapers.

This time we will lay down a newspaper base, line up the straw bales, and begin the watering. That initial watering is necessary--for two weeks--to get the decomposition going. Some object that these will need a lot of water. Since I monitor the nearby roses, it is not a problem. In fact, I can soak everything at once.

The walls are masonry, so that is not an issue with water and rotting straw.



Carrot Seed Order Not Revised
I thought Burpee cut my order in half after it was duplicated from the server error (and my re-entry). I was so impatient for free shipping. I will get 7,000 carrot seeds, share them with two gardeners, and still have plenty to plant carrot borders. The kids on the corner, and their mother, thought the amount was pretty funny.

To judge seed costs, buy one packet of sunflower seeds. Estimate the weight. Then figure out what 25 pounds of it would cost.

Inexpensive suet feeding.

Far more expensive per ounce.


Suet Follows Valentine's Dinner at the Jackson Grill
We decided that eating at the Jackson Grill was a better deal than going out. We enjoyed my special recipes yesterday, with Sassy supervising the trip to the meat market, the grilling, and the eating. She waiting patiently to collect her bonus.

I also ordered several pounds of suet. One reader donated two wood suet feeders. The traditional one was wildly popular with the birds and emptied fast. The one with holes drilled in - I waited to fill with bulk suet. I had bags that were emptied by the birds, so I filled six suet feeders today.

Once again, the cost of bulk suet compared to little square packets - no contest.

We have two more bags in the front yard, which a downy woodpecker is working on.  The backyard swarms with starlings enjoying the suet and four baths.

California Dreaming Rose.

So Many Absurdities in the UOJ Dogma of Webber and Buchholz.
Boycott the Emmaus Conference

The UOJ Champions are Calvinists,
who follow the rationalistic Enthusiasm of Zwingli -
grace without the Means of Grace,
salvation without faith,
the Holy Spirit without the Word.


History

  • Luther identified the three main heresies as attacks against the divinity of Christ, the humanity of Christ, and justification by faith.The first advocate of UOJ in Lutherdom was Huber, a "former" Calvinist teaching at Wittenberg. 
  • When Huber began attacking justification by faith and promoting UOJ, P. Leyser crushed his arguments. Huber was expelled from his post instead of being assigned conference papers in favor of UOJ.
  • Where did Pietism come from? - Spener was impressed by Calvinism and promoted his hybrid version, using cell groups to supplant the Means of Grace.
  • UOJ entered the Lutheran Church in the era of Pietism. 
  • Halle University was established to teach Pietism, but the school soon became rationalistic. And UOJ flourished at Halle.
  • Martin Stephan, the founder of the Missouri Synod. learned UOJ at Halle and taught it to his young disciple CFW Walther.
  • Walther changed the seminary professorship election rules to get his pick to replace him - F. Pieper.


Leonard Woods is the famous Calvinist who translated
the Halle lectures and coined OJ and SJ.
Lutherans adopted his terminology.
The mainlines adopted his Pietism but left out faith:
everyone is forgiven and saved (Jon Buchholz, MDiv).


Double Justification Crosses the Ocean and Returns

  • The Calvinist Leonard Wood translated the Halle University theology lectures given by Knappe, coining the two justifications in his explanation - Objective Justification and Subjective Justification.
  • The English terms were adopted by the Germans, and Walther liked the words. Zo neat. Zo clever.
  • Thus the Calvinist translation of a Pietistic textbook created the language of UOJ Stormtroopers, still used shamelessly today in the Synodical Conference.

Who says this all the time? -
Jay Webber, using "in Christ" instead of "in His person."
But "in Christ" refers to believers in Him.



Timid, Cowardly, Deceptive Universalism Hides under UOJ's Claims of Grace

  • Buchholz and Webber do not admit their Universalism, but Buchie clearly teaches "everyone is saved without faith" in his convention paper.
  • ELCA is honest about this dogma. They believe--like the Calvinist Karl Barth--that the entire world is saved without faith. ELCA calls this "grace" and condemns anyone who emphasizes faith in Christ.
  • WELS, Missouri, and the ELS have no problems working with ELCA through Thrivent and Planned Parenthood, but they expel selectively those who teach justification by faith.
Sassy Sue has volunteered to provide the ammo.
How much longer will Lutherans listen to the anti-Luthers,
the anti-Pauls, the anti-Confessions?


Missouri and WELS Contradict Themselves
  • The 1905 German catechism of the Missouri Synod taught justification by faith.
  • The KJV catechism still promoted by Missouri's CPH (2 million copies sold!) teaches justification by faith, not UOJ.
  • WELS Pastor Gausewitz was elected Synodical Conference president. His justification by faith catechism was very popular and widely used until WELS kicked it under the bus and replaced it with Kuske's clip-art UOJ catechism: bigger, fatter, more expensive.
  • Papenfuss admitted to the Kokomo families he excommunicated that he never heard of UOJ until he reached Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary
  • UOJ Enthusiasts continue to claim that Justification Without Faith is the "Chief Article of the Christian Religion, the Master and Prince, the Judge of all articles of the Faith," but those descriptions belong to  Justification by Faith Alone.

Here is my lecture on the falsity of UOJ:
one quotation, found in Robert Preus' Justification and Rome.

UOJ Loves, Loves, Loves Church Growth and Emergent Church Nonsense

  • We have seen Missouri, WELS, the ELS/CLC (sic) and ELCA stampede like Garasene swine toward Fuller Seminary, Trinity Divinity, Mars Hill (RIP), the Crystal Cathedral (RIP), and Willow Creek. Wanna get ahead in Lutherdom? Study at one of those before they collapse.
  • UOJ justifies and energizes this suicidal plunge into the New Rationalism. If surveys suggest ripping out the pipe organ so cousin Brunhilda can sing Amazing Grace, then do it. Get rid of the liturgy, creeds, Lutheran hymns, and Scriptural hymns. Change or Die!
  • The big Thrivent (earlier AAL or LB) Trilateral conferences--Membership Initiative, etc etc--have all been Church Growth extravaganzas.
  • No Lutheran leader admits that the Fuller Seminary agenda has taken over Lutherdom in America, whether in the zany but Frank and Earnest ELCA or in the inbred and incestuous CLC (sic).
  • DP Jon Buchholz is a perfect example of this paradox, with his Enthusiastic support of UOJ, Rick Johnson, and Jeff Gunn, his papistic expulsion of Pastor Paul Rydecki and the congregation he lied to. 
  • SP-without-Portfolio Jay Webber has shown a similar preference for aligning himself with Church Growther Floyd Luther while continuing his promotion of Halle's rationalistic Pietism. Ichabodians - would you name a new church after one where Masons were promised Holy Communion (Emmanuel, Columbus), where an enormous scandal about the disappearance of funds broke out (ditto), where the faux-pastor was kicked out of the LCMS for cause (ditto)? No problem - because that pillar of Lutherdom, Marvin Schwan, provided matching funds for this particular debacle.

Some of the UOJ liars will cite Gerhard
against Justification by Faith Alone.
They have not read Gerhard.