Sunday, May 10, 2015

God Invented Disposable Diapers - Grackles Drop Them into My Rainbarrel



Luvs, Pampers, Huggies - long before man invented disposable diapers, God's air fleet was using them. Grackles call attention to this be dropping off the diaper bundles in swimming pools - and my rainbarrel.

Other birds use the same system, but grackles make the diapers a lot more visible, as I noticed yesterday and today, when little white puffs were floating in the rainbarrel.

When the parents feed the hatchlings, the baby birds form a fecal sac in a few seconds, wrap it in a tough mucous membrane, and push it out. The parents fly the diaper away, to keep from making the nest location obvious.

So the evolutionists imagine. But do we know their intentions? Maybe birds are neatniks.

Grackles may drop them in water, expecting the water to carry the evidence away. That means God invented sanitary sewers as well. That is why birdbaths need to be cleaned often. They are also targets, even though the birds may be bathing and drinking there.

This part is gross, so do not read it. Newborn didies are eaten by the parents, which allows them to recycle the undigested worms and insects. But when the babies get bigger, the parents just carry the sacs away. Grown birds simply expel waste. Like human babies, they outgrow the need for disposable diapers, but a lot quicker than humans do.

This is just another example of the soil creatures coming back to the soil in another form, so a managed garden and lawn will build up organic matter simply from the birds feeding their young and keeping their little homes clean and safe.



Birds Eating Between Storms
Water was standing in our backyard today, before the big storm moved in tonight, with loud thunder directly overhead, plus heavy rain.

The birds took advantage of the calm to bathe and eat fresh food. The suet is always out and water repellent (kidney fat). The seeds can get wet, but I have places to shelter some of the seed, and the bird platform lets water drain away.

Soggy seed  does not sound good, but we had goldfinches, starlings, house finches, doves, grackles, and cardinals feeding. Squirrels like to jump onto the hanging platform feeder, which makes a racket.

All our species take turns eating, so it seems as if they placed reservations.

When I was outside, standing still, looking over the backyard, goldfinches were feeding not far away. One flew from the window birdfeeder and landed near my feet, busying himself with a lot of feeding from the ground.

Feed them and they will stay.
Greeting card by Norma Boeckler.

Dr. Lito Cruz on Text Criticism - Deciding Which Biblical Manuscript Is Best

Lito Cruz earned his PhD in math.

Westcott-Hort Axiom on Textual Criticism Does Not Pass Statistics

I was with the King James Version of the Bible when I first believed. Sometime in the late 1980 I started toying with other versions of the Bible. One of the most disgusting versions I have come across is the NIV, so I am sorry if you are a fan of this Bible translation, as I am not.

However through the years I let NASB, NRSV and now ESV hang around my library and when I was pastoring  I even preached from these.

Now that I have more time, I have recently in the last couple of weeks studied a bit this matter of Textual Criticism.

I process of copying Biblical text by the ancients was an extremely and complex human activity and the axioms of Westcott and Hort people are very simplistic and do not account the physics of this writing process.

Let me give a few examples of why for a trained mathematician the following axioms must be rejected. Now we know that these textual criticism axioms are not like mathematical axioms that are self evidently true. TC axioms are not like this of course but these TC axioms are not even scientific.

Here are the axioms I reject.

1. Manuscripts are to be weighted not counted.
Now what is the rational of this? Well we can say that simply because it is many does not mean it came from the original. Now this may be true, but that depends on what is being copied and the nature of that document being copied. If you forgive me, I feel this is quite stupid when applied to the New Testament. Right now, all them modern versions come from Alexandrian type manuscript. Yet there are more than 5000 copies of Byzantine manuscripts.  Here statistics wins. Why do we have many copies of Byzantine and no inundation of copies of Alexandrian? It is because the ancients believed the Byzantine source is most reliable, it is the one worth copying and the Alexandrian is not.

2.  The shorter reading is to be preferred.
Now to be frank, before this axiom, there is another axiom that prevails - the more difficult reading is to be preferred. In the modern translations besides KJV and NKJV, since they base their text from Alexandrian type manuscripts, all the readings that are short have been preferred. This presupposes the scribal writer has the tendency to add text. Again, this does not work. Humans are the ones copying these text, not like computers, so they struggle with lighting and tiredness; so they are likely omit words or phrases when they are tired. Sure there may be a double checkers but the process we know is not air tight, therefore the longer reading is to be preferred.

More later.

Ichabod is the default blog at Dr. and Mrs. Lito Cruz' home.

***

GJ - Wescott and Hort were a couple of frauds. They were told NOT to issue a new text of the New Testament, but they produced their own anyway, using their own rules.

The NIV is a product both of text elimination and corruption plus "dynamic equivalency," which means St. Paul really meant UOJ in Romans 3, so we supplied the wording to make sure his actual intentions - and those of the Holy Spirit - were carried out.

WELS loves the New NIV and the old NIV, but they hate the KJV and would not even discuss any of the modernized KJVs.

The bitter fruit of the toxic NIV tree.

Mother's Day Sermon - 2015

Thomas Cole - The Good Shepherd


Pastor Gregory L. Jackson




The Hymn #628            Shepherd of Tender Youth                
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual       
The Gospel              
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 426               The Lord My Shepherd Is  
           

 The Christian Home


The Communion Hymn # 307            Draw Nigh                 
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #50                 Lord Dismiss Us                 

Prayer

Lord God, heavenly Father, who of Thy fatherly goodness hast been mindful of us poor, miserable sinners, and hast given Thy beloved Son to be our shepherd, not only to nourish us by His word, but also to defend us from sin, death, and the devil: We beseech Thee, grant us Thy Holy Spirit, that, even as this Shepherd doth know us and succor us in every affliction, we also may know Him, and, trusting in Him, seek help and comfort in Him, from our hearts obey His voice, and obtain eternal salvation, through the same, Thy Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

KJV 1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

KJV John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.



The Christian Home

KJV 1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 

The liturgical scholars, the same brave souls who caved into the Vatican to follow the three year cycle of readings, frown upon the recognition of Mother's Day. They also frown on the way I skipped over this set of readings this year, which made me wonder why Ascension Day was upon us a week early - when it was not.

But I take refuge in Luther's example of using theme sermons from time to time, when something needed to be emphasized.

This Mother's Day came about because mothers were not getting enough appreciation, and the custom grew. I can vouch for my high school class in saying that all my contacts miss their mothers very much and often talk about each other's, because we tended to live in the same homes from Kindergarten through high school graduation. There may be one or two mothers still alive among my class, but that is all.

Many say on Facebook, "I miss you every day, Mom."

We are the first generation to have so many mothers living to be 90 years old and beyond. Therefore, we take for granted what was so rare years ago. Social Security assumed that we would live a year or two beyond the 65 year old retirement age.

1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps...

This is the text that led to the writing of one of the all time best-sellers in America, called In His Steps.

The text reminds us that Jesus is not only our Savior but also our Example. Luther used mothers as an symbolic of Christ's love. A mother's love moves downward and is self-sacrificing.

Giving birth is by itself a special health risk for others, although God also provides the special blessing of stem cells that seek out ways to strengthens the mother's body (as I understand). Having children is the greatest possible blessing, matched only by having grandchildren.

And what do we see in the raising of children? First of all, they start out as demanding babies who seldom make life easy. Many little ones have special problems that double the cost of being a mother. As they grow older, children often see their mothers as roadblocks on the path of happiness.

And in all these years, believing mothers look at their children with love and have special love for those with special needs. 

Believing mothers always teach their children about Jesus, which leads to a strange situation today. Paul admonished men to be spiritual leaders because they seldom are. In their absence, women will always take over, such as teaching Sunday School and taking their children to church when the fathers stay home. So the trend is to destroy Paul's inspired wisdom and enforce women as running the congregation. One liberal noted that men will not take roles that they see as women's roles. 

In my first congregation, which was German, men ran the Sunday School and taught Sunday School, with the exception of the nursery class. Men knew they did not have the talents for that age group. One liberal church guru said that women pastors and council members always lead men to step down and stay at home. There are many all-women congregations where men hardly show up. This has all come from the "rights" attitude.

No matter what, believing mothers have a great influence on their children. When that is lost, the essential building block of society is lost and the foundation weakens. We are seeing the results of that after about 90 years of Prostestant apostasy, following one intellectual fad after another.

One does not learn if there are no teachers, so the Christian home has become a minority situation in a hostile land, just like the Roman Empire.

Christ also suffered for us
Self-sacrifice is giving oneself for others, and finding purpose and peace in that role. One mother said, "I stopped working when I had our first child." I said, incredulously, "You stopped working?"

I interrupted a fellow sales agent (a bachelor) when he asked a husband, "Does your wife work or does she just stay at home?" I advised him later that he was all messed up.

Being a mother is a lot of work and we do not let many mothers do that work. And worst of all, we diminish the most important work in favor of making money. That is absolutely crazy.

Women have been apologetic to me when they stayed at home to raise their children. That was my first significant question on a date, because I was not interested in a double income and the luxuries provided by that arrangement. The first one I asked was also the last one I asked, because we got married with the thought of working at home being far more important than an extra job.

But many women have no choice in the matter, and we have to respect them for doubly working as breadwinners and mothers.

The meaning of the Christian life is to serve others and find enjoyment in that service. Mothers are the best example of that.

Just as Christ was gracious and welcoming and forgiving, so are mothers. Those who hold up past mistakes against their children for 20 years are not very much in tune with the Gospel.

No honest parent will say, "I am a perfect parent," so how can imperfect people have perfect children? That cannot be.

We come into this world as sinners and the chief difference is faith in Christ.

Faith gives us the gracious forgiveness of Christ and makes us forgiving if we are truly repentant. That is the big challenge of mothers and all parents - to teach the faith and live the faith.

23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 

We should also admit that there are irregular parents. I have known a lot of them, and I have seen their victims, their children. One time I wondered about the hostility of one church council member. He always seemed to have knives shooting from his eyes, not matter what. Then I met his father and I knew. In fact, I have known several council members like that. One confessed how horrible his father was, and I recalled how awful he was, and how his daughters married men like him.

There are obnoxious, hateful mothers - and they go to church. They are a mixture of hatefulness and craziness. And how is this God's plan?

That gives children a chance to break the pattern as much as possible, to understand their emotional scars and take care not to scar others the same way.

Christ is the best example of that - not taking revenge, not getting even, but letting God take care of justice.


Inexpensive Garden Improvements




Most garden writers seem to work for the home and garden industry, so they offer suggestions filled with ideas for purchasing more stuff. I asked Mr. Gardener about all the riding lawnmowers I see around the neighborhood, small yards with monsters lawnmowers barely making the turns. The machines often become push mowers, as they are pushed back into the garage or onto a pickup for a trip to the repair shop.

Happy Mother's Day


Animals Love Food,  Shelter, and Water
We can create better conditions for many creatures with only a little time and money, sometimes for free.


  1. Clay pots with breaks in them are perfect toad homes, because toads need shelter from the sun.
  2. Upside down pots, with holes in their roofs (former drainage holes) are good  spider homes.
  3. Logs are ideal for feeding the creatures of rot, which attract birds. Toads love them too.
  4. A solar light on the ground will attract bugs, a fly in meal for toads. which are real bug zappers.
  5. Shallow dishes collect water, which animals need for drinking and bathing. Toads use them to hydrate.
  6. Shallow containers under a soaker hose will fill and wash themselves most of the time.
  7. Increased watering stations will multiply the bird population bathing and drinking.
  8. Food does not simply mean bird food from the store, but especially the seeds of plants and wildflowers, critters hiding in the mulch, and larvae in trees and bushes.
  9. Suet from a butcher is many times cheaper than suet in little wafers at the bird food section.
  10. Variety in plants can be created with pass-alongs, easy to raise plants from friends. Their seeds and fruits appeal to many.
  11. Some plants, like wild strawberries--will produce flowers for bees and fruit for birds and humans--all summer long. Wild strawberries transplant easily.
  12. Letting an area grow with long grass means having another habitat in the yard, which will change the make-up of the creature convention. The same is true of food.



Saturday, May 9, 2015

Intensive Creation Unit Refilled with Rainwater - Barrels Full.
Trumpet Vines Arrive Dry.
Newlywed Admires Roses



My rainbarrels were empty so I filled the second one with city water, to evaporate out the chlorine. Both barrels overflowed last night, and the backyard had standing water before the rain began today. We had morning rain and will enjoy evening rain most of the night.


Our newlywed friend came over to see the roses after their college graduation. She loved Falling in Love Rose, so I offered to send it home with her. Instead, she took a vase of roses. I distributed three vases today before I ran out of red roses from the only one KnockOut Rose bush. Rain kept me from doing much more today in cutting roses.


While we were talking, the trumpet vines arrived. To be more precise, three sticks came in an empty box large enough for a small Christmas tree. I found loose dirt inside. The nursery suggested soaking two hours first before planting. Given the vitality of trumpet vines, that was worth a try, so I floated all three in a rain barrel.

Falling in Love Rose is fragrant
but was rather petite the first year of growth.


Long ago I read that vines sent up trees fail because they are planted too close to the tree, in rooty shallow soil,  too far from a good bed of soil. For two trees, I did exactly that, planted in a pocket of good soil,  Earthworms rose up and wiggled away. I made the newspaper section with the hole in the middle to serve as a bib to protect against weeds. The newspaper draping the vine also distinguishes the forlorn stick from everything else in the yard.

Readers are wondering what happened to the third vine. I have Passion Flowers (two vines) going up one tiny tree, and honeysuckle vine already flowering and going up the dead tree.

I took the failsafe option and put the third trumpet vine along the fence on Mrs. Wright's side. The soil is rich with earthworms and the fellowship of other plants. The sunlight is close to perfect, and the Jackson Aerial Aqueduct showers water and bird dung on the plants below.

On Mrs. Wright's side and mine, the trumpet vine volunteers can be mowed away or exploited - depending.

Rototilling is a good way to work the abs
while destroying the soil and slaughtering the earthworms.
Mulching will accomplish far more at a lower cost.


Unsolicited Endorsement
I spoke to a butcher yesterday who asked about my gardens. I buy five pounds of suet at a time from him. He has great roses and a beautiful lawn. He said, "I don't do anything. I just let the Good Lord do it for me. My neighbors have lawn services and terrible lawns. God does a better job, don't you think?"

Meanwhile, our newspaper suggested that flowers near trees should get extra doses of fertilizer, because the tree roots will seek out the water and fertilizer put on the cultivated area.

Needless to say, if the fertilizer makes things worse, more commercial applications will be suggested.




The Professors Butcher Doctrine at the WELS Sausage Factory -
But the Grads Come Out the Same.
Paul Kuske Agrees about This, and DP Seifert Frowned

The faculty is almost the same size as the graduating class,
so one professor for every three or four students?

Ex District VP Paul Kuske:
"They turned out another class of false teachers!"
Too bad he grew up on Gausewitz' Catechism.
Frosty Bivens bragged about going to Fuller Seminary
in front of the Midland Michigan circuit,
but began denying it and calling that a lie.
His defense of UOJ is hilariously bad.

John Brug is retiring, so someone even worse will replace him.
His Ministry of the Word managed to omit the efficacy of the Word,
so he is at odds with the Old Testament, New Testament,
Luther, and the Book of Concord.

Tiefel's former choir member said they were not groping
each other during choir, not that he saw.
But he did attend a seminary wedding where he found two seminary
students in another room - reliving Sodom.

One Student Was Turned Down for Too Much Debt - Debt from His LCMS College!.
Am I Nuts To Laugh, or Should Missouri Cry?

CTSFW Continues Work to Address Issue of Educational Debt
For Immediate Release
May 8, 2015
FORT WAYNE, IND. (CTSFW)—Concordia Theological Seminary (CTSFW), Fort Wayne, Indiana, continues efforts to address the growing challenge of educational debt among seminary students. In July 2012, CTSFW was awarded a three year grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to study and promote awareness about this issue. In January 2013, CTSFW began its work under the theme “Improving the Economic Well-being of Future Servants of Jesus Christ.” CTSFW has surveyed students, alumni, donors and congregation leaders to get feedback on the issue. The findings from these surveys, plus suggested action items to encourage increased support for students and teach students how to better handle educational debt, can be found here

“We offer this report as a means for the church to begin to understand the financial challenges faced by current and future seminary students. The problem of seminary student educational debt has been building for a number of years and it is our hope that this report will begin a process to reverse this troubling trend of increasing student loan debt among our future church workers," commented the Rev. Mark Sheafer, CTSFW Lilly Grant project director. "This, of course, is not an issue that can be addressed by CTSFW alone. To realize successful solutions we propose to work jointly with those at the congregation, district and Synod levels. "

In addition to this report, CTSFW has produced and distributed a video to raise awareness throughout The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, provided fundraising ideas for congregations, offered giving opportunities and created informational bulletin inserts and brochures. These resources may be found at www.ctsfw.edu/SupportFutureServants
   
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Concordia Theological Seminary (CTSFW), Fort Wayne, Indiana, exists to form servants in Jesus Christ who teach the faithful, reach the lost and care for all.  Founded in 1846, CTSFW is a seminary of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). Learn more about CTSFW at www.ctsfw.edu and the LCMS at www.lcms.org.

***

GJ - Our distinguished researcher,  Bruce Church, published the tuition cost figures a long time ago.

The Concordia seminaries cost as much as Yale Divinity School, but their degrees are worthless outside of the system. Besides that, many District Presidents love kicking men out of the ministry, so the guys have enormous debts and no marketable skills.

Dr. Robert Preus tried to address this, and they kicked him out.

Note - 

I thought you would get a kick out of this.  Last time I checked, less than one-percent of the LCMS budget supports the sems.  I’m sure all the pencil pushers at The Purple Palace with six-figure salaries will be more than willing to address the issue.  I have actually heard of one guy being rejected from CTSFW (for immoral living) because of too much debt from his undergrad at another Concordia Institution.  They created their own monster, and now they struggle to fix it. 

---

Parish exerience - almost none.
MDiv only.
Expert on everything, including copying and pasting -
Paul McCain.


Bruce Kintz - the boss at CPH gets $290,000 a year in salary and benefits.

The president and CEO grabs another $267,000 a year.

Paul McCain, the poorly educated, plagiarizing VP Corporate Counsel consumes another $195,000 - for doing what?

Those figures are for 2012. A little behind?

Butterfly Weed - For Monarch Butterflies, Butterflies in General.
What I Learned in Crafts - Jackson Mulch Style


The Butterfly Weed is not related to the Butterfly Bush, except for the first name of the plants.

Instead, Butterfly Weed is related to milkweed, the mother's milk of Monarchs. As a relative, it is also food source for the Monarch larvae when they hatch,

I like most weeds, because each one has good, useful qualities, but this one is badly named. It does not have tiny flowers and is not an obnoxious pest (unlike Giant Hogweed).

It is really a perennial wildflower that many grow in their butterfly gardens.

I obtained three plants and some seed. The plants arrived yesterday, fairly dried out.

The previous night's rain provided two barrels of rainwater, so I first soaked the plants in rainwater for an hour. Immersed, not sprinkled.

I found a prominent spot where they would get water and sunlight and attention - near the Bee Balm.

The row was already mulched, so it only took a stab into the wet soil to open a place for all three.



Planting them was no chore, but I wanted them distinguished from the rest of the growing things, weeds included.

I have been doing something I learned from crafts class in school, long ago. I take a section of the newspaper, already soaked in rain, and tear a hole in the crease.

This gives me a circular area to fit around the tiny plant, a bib to let in water easily and yet smother the rambunctious weeds surrounding it.

The weeds think I am lazy and do not want to bend over and pull them out. That may be  true, but I also consider fresh, green, vibrant weeds to be future compost. The newspaper bib puts weeds in the dark and unleashes the forces of Creation on them. They wilt in the dark and fungi,bacteria, and earthworms turn them into the best soil amendment around.

Once the three bibs were installed and a few damp newspapers added for stray weeds, I opened a bag of shredded cyprus mulch on them and spread that around.

The next step is important. Although rain was hours away, I gently poured stored rainwater all over the mulch around each plant, using more rainwater to settle the soil around the fragile roots.

A wet plant in dry mulch is going to have the water wicked away by the dry wood, and that is wicked for the plant. But once soaked, the mulch will hold water for the newborn plant.

Gardening gurus will say wood throttles the nitrogen, so only use old, composted, wood. Wood will absorb nitrogen while rotting, but it will also give it up slowly later, a better bargain than the fear-mongers imagine. Pouring rainwater on the mulch provides an extra measure of nitrogen. When the roots become established they will insist on nitrogen from the fungi which are hungry for carbon.

The fungi are only too happy to absorb creatures rich in nitrogen.

At the center of any viable soil food web are plants. Plants control the food web for their own benefit, an amazing fact that is too little understood and surely not appreciated by gardeners who are constantly interfering with Nature’s system [Creation]. Studies indicate that individual plants can control the numbers and the different kinds of fungi and bacteria attracted to the rhizosphere by the exudates they produce...  

Soil bacteria and fungi are like small bags of fertilizer, retaining in their bodies nitrogen and other nutrients they gain from root exudates and other organic matter (such as those sloughed-off root-tip cells). Carrying on the analogy, soil protozoa and nematodes act as “fertilizer spreaders” by releasing the nutrients locked up in the bacteria and fungi “fertilizer bags.” The nematodes and protozoa in the soil come along and eat the bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere. They digest what they need to survive and excrete excess carbon and other nutrients as waste. Left to their own devices, then, plants produce exudates that attract fungi and bacteria (and, ultimately, nematodes and protozoa); their survival depends on the interplay between these microbes. It is a completely natural system, the very same one that has fueled plants since they evolved [GJ - sic]. Soil life provides the nutrients needed for plant life, and plants initiate and fuel the cycle by producing exudates.

Lewis, Wayne;  Lowenfels, Jeff;  (2010-09-10). Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web, Revised Edition (Kindle Locations 199-206). Timber Press. Kindle Edition. 

Roses More Glorious
This morning I went out to do my paper route, putting the newspaper on the front porch of the Gardeners. I also placed a surprise near each Queen Elizabeth rose, one plaque for Bethany Joan Marie, and another for Erin Joy.

The KnockOut Roses are begging for cutting and pruning. The roses finish fast and start to fade, and they are not "self-pruning." Today the neighborhood mothers will each get a vase of roses - magenta, pink, white, and whatever the hybrid teas offer.

The result will be a new blooming, especially with so much rain and so many earthworms under the mulch.

Butterfly - by Norma Boeckler,
our artist who loves gardening, butterflies, and birds.

Friday, May 8, 2015

Massive Rose Blooming - Thanks to the Rain, Our Helper,
and Mrs. Ichabod's Support


Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: 
  • it shall not return unto me void, 
  • but it shall accomplish that which I please, 
  • and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.


The prophet Isaiah, inspired by the Holy Spirit, used our knowledge of rain and snow to describe the work of the Word of God. The Word:

  1. Never returns to God void.
  2. Always accomplishes His will, and 
  3. Prospers God's purpose.


There is only one possible conclusion - the Holy Spirit is always united with the Word. In other words, God never works without the Word and always accomplishes His will through the Word.



Contrary to Calvin, the father of Christian rationalism, the Gospel has a powerful effect at all times. The heir to Zwingli's rationalism imagined that the Holy Spirit was sovereign in choosing not to work at times. That is why Calvinists use the term  sovereign, to emphasize this fickle nature. The king of a country may choose to go to war or not, so Calvin confused the nature of earthly traditions with God's Word and will.

Calvin's separation of Word and Spirit explains why so many quasi-Lutherans do not trust the Word. Such a wrong-headed dogma influences people to supply what God does not promise in His Scriptures. Perhaps they need to make the Word relevant to the times. Or, they may need to explain the Word of God so that it makes sense to human reason.

Reasonable explanations do not apply to the mysteries revealed by the Spirit in the Word. The Holy Trinity is revealed, not explained. The Two Natures in Christ are taught by the Word, not made reasonable by man. Holy Communion is expounded by the Word, and not subject to human deductions and logic.

That does not mean leaving our brains at home or in the church narthex, but using God's gifts to understand the Word of God in its plain, clear meaning. Every time I hear a dogma contrary to Scripture, the rationale comes from a long history of some people drilling their followers on the clear meaning NOT being what they think it is.




The Rose Gardens in Bloom
Last year we began the first rose garden and expanded it from 8 to 16 roses. The ingredients were:

  • Jackson Mulch turning the lawn into compost.
  • Uncle Jim's Worm Farm's red wigglers helping the effort.
  • No insecticides, no herbicides, and no fungicides. The only spraying was water.


We are experiencing heavy rains this week. The formerly empty rain barrels are now full. The KnockOut roses have at least 400 blooms on them. Last year's hybrid tea roses are blooming and the new roses are budding.

The mulch layer is a massive damp blanket of organic matter, fungi, bacteria, protozoa, nematodes, and earthworms. The rain fertilizes the roses with nitrogen while giving all the soil creatures a boost. Their increased population traps more nutrition in the top layer of soil and feeds it to the roots.

Our helper kept the projects moving along by showing up for mulching and digging. Mrs. Ichabod cheered the design and the number of roses. When I was done ordering and an email offered rose for $5 each, she said, "Order them now!" And I did.

Mrs. Wright and Mrs. Gardener were delighted with the prospect of having so many roses to enjoy.

I admit to working at this for the last year, but the vast majority of labor has been done by God's creatures, fashioned by the Creating Word - the Son of God - at the very beginning. "Nothing that was made was made apart from Him." John 1

Jesus is the example of always dealing with people, converting them through the spoken Word.

But He was not successful, some say, because so many hated Him and decided to kill Him. That was also effective, as many ministers have noticed in their own congregations. As soon as the Gospel takes root, as Luther observed. Satanic opposition rises up from within the congregation to silence the Word.

Some cleverly avoid this by not teaching the Word, and their Calvinist mentors at Fuller Seminary teach them how.

Giant Hogweed - A Lesson about Importing False Doctrine

Even touching this plant can make you sorry for a long, long time.
Note the Queen Ann's Lace profile -
Queen Ann's Lace is called wild carrot, but those wild carrots are poison.

Wikipedia says:

Giant hogweed was among many foreign plants introduced to Britain in the 19th century, mainly for ornamental reasons. It is now widespread throughout the British Isles, especially along riverbanks. By forming dense stands, they can displace native plants and reduce wildlife interests.[8] It has also spread in the northeastern and northwestern United States and southern Canada. It is equally a pernicious invasive species in Germany, France and Belgium, overtaking the local species.[8] It was introduced in France in the 19th century by botanists, where it is much appreciated by beekeepers.

A Facebook friend posted a video about Giant Hogweed in Michigan, and I wondered a bit about a hoax, so I looked it up on various sites.

The plant looks like carrots gone to seed, parsley, and Queen Ann's Lace, all part of my gardening efforts. For good reason - Giant Hogweed belongs to the same family and has that umbrella shaped seedheads.

My first thought is - If a plant can grow 10 feet without effort, be very wary of it, because that is not a typical plant and it is unlikely a wholesome plant.

Mr. Gardener and I laugh about the government suggesting kudzu vine and the Chinese multiflora rose as good plants for farmers to plant and encourage. Both are noxious plants and illegal to grow now. In Arkansas, he says, there are still areas owned by kudzu, smothered by the vine.

They found a disease that attacks the multiflora rose, so that plant is no longer considered a major threat to life, health, wealth, and peace of mind. Neither kudzu nor multiflora rose could be weeded out - which tells us something right there.




Plants and Sound Doctrine
Plants from the same family have similar growing habits, similar flowers and seeds, but they often vary in their usefulness.

The nightshades include tomatoes, potatoes, tobacco, egg plant, woody nightshade, deadly nightshade, and garden huckleberry. The last item produces black berries that can be cooked and made into pies. Deadly nightshade is the basis for belladonna, still a useful medicine, but the berries are toxic.

The umbellifers include:
The Apiaceae (or Umbelliferae), commonly known as the celerycarrot or parsley family, are a family of mostly aromatic plants with hollow stems. The family, which is named after the type genus Apium, is large, with more than 3,700 species spread across 434 genera; it is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants.[1] Included in this family are the well-known plants: angelicaanisearracachaasafoetidacarawaycarrotceleryCentella asiaticachervilcicely,coriander (cilantro), culantrocumindillfennelhemlocklovageQueen Anne's laceparsleyparsnipcow parsnip,sea hollygiant hogweed and the now extinct silphium.

Since Giant Hogweed comes from a distinguished family, it must be good. I am sure that was the argument, and "Look, how the bees love it." And - "Easy to grow!"

Touch this plant and get blistered and scarred.
It is extremely toxic.
We all have our toxic plant stories, including poison ivy. I once tried to pull it out of the ground with my bare hands. I really suffered for that. Mr. Gardener and his wife both have their own poison ivy stories. Our cousin almost died from eating a mushroom that she was hyper-allergic too, though it did not affect her family.

Dealing with plants means discerning the good from the bad. I do not have the knowledge to find the right mushrooms in the wild so I do not even try.

Sound Doctrine Is Healthy Doctrine - False Doctrine Is Cancer

Distinguishing sound doctrine (literally healthy teaching) from false doctrine (described as a cancer) is a mandate for all Christian believers, especially those who would teach the Faith.

The arguments of false teachers are just as compelling as the government's promotion of kudzu vine -

  1. Kudzu grows quickly on its own.
  2. The roots hold the soil.
  3. Cattle can eat it - free food.


Church Growth came from Robert Schuller and the nearby Fuller Seminary, both near Disneyland in California. Schuller was a Dutch Calvinist, a Protestant. Look at how successful he was, and look at how Fuller became the largest pan-demon seminary in America.

Superficially, Church Growth is not opposed to the Christian Faith. The leaders promoted it as good for all denominations (a bad sign). And church executives from all denominations - even the Church of Rome - came to be trained there.

The leaders of the LCMS, WELS, and ELS have been trained at Fuller, Willow Creek, and similar re-education centers, like Trinity Divinity in Deerfield. Lutheran laity have paid the tuition for them. Thrivent has also backed this 100%  - another bad sign.

No single aspect of Church Growth can be refuted.

  • Is it wrong to phone a lot of people for evangelism? 
  • Is it wrong to clean the church and make it attractive? (Rare, but not wrong) 
  • Do we have to use page 5 and 15 for the worship service?
  • Do all the hymns have to be from Lutherans?
  • Cannot our members sing solos and glorify God?
  • Must we stick to the KJV, which did not come from Lutherans? (Shading the truth a bit)

Church Growth dogma and methods can be promoted successfully when it is carefully presented to the innocent, hiding the real agenda, which works more by displacement than outright antagonism.

Giant Hogweed does not kill other plants - it simply overwhelms them with its enormous leaves and prodigal seed production. Dill and Queen Ann's Lace can easily be spread by crushing the seedheads and sowing the seed. I simply took home mature Queen Ann's Lace and left it on the ground.  But neither plant takes over the way Giant Hogweed does.

They brag about going there and deny it -
Bivens and Valleskey.

Kudzu enriches the soil in many ways, but it also smothers homes, cars, and utility poles.

Church Growth has spread its culture of doctrinal indifference to every single church body in America. From doctrinal indifference comes all the bad fruit of any fast-growing weedlike false teaching.

Frau Mueller, Wayne's cross-dressing son,
Larry Olson, perhaps the worst teacher at Martin Luther College,
and Jeff Gunn, DP Buchholz' favorite pastor,
all are working together to smother and destroy the Means of grace.

I first heard it in Columbus, Ohio from the adulterous clergy in WELS -

  • Doctrinal discernment is "Christian bashing."
  • Anyone against Church Growth is "lazy."
  • "You are not one of us." (Good)
  • "We have been talking to your members and..."
 WELS funded a separate campus of the same congregation,
 to present Craig Groeschel sermons verbatim.
They even borrowed the Groeschel graphics and slogans.


Like WELS, Missouri, and the ELS, they lost by winning. The Columbus WELS congregations are collapsing faster than a Hillary alibi. Those clergy (like Jay Webber and Jon Buchholz) who did nothing against Church Growth are loudly proclaiming forgiveness without faith as the true Gospel - denying UOJ is the foundation for Church Growth, even though the adulterous Karl Barth and the heinous David Valleskey taught UOJ with glee.



Don Patterson denied his Chruch and Change credentials,
went to their "last" conference,
took staff to Exponential,
and became the District President.