Thy Will Be Done

I have been studying FREEDOM. I am surprised by what I have been learning. We think that we are free when we are "free" to do whatever we WANT to do. But so often, as we pursue pleasure and indulge ourselves, we make choices which ultimately are harmful. We may even become enslaved by addictions to alcohol, gambling, shopping, and .... OH NO ! ... the internet.

We may be caught in a "rat race" trying to buy bigger TV's, fancier phones, more fashionable clothes. Perhaps we have become stressed out and frustrated. We long for more peace of mind, more kindness, more love in our world. It could be that we find we have become like the man in Romans 7:19 "For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing."

However, if we choose to go the way of God, then we find ourselves becoming more and more free. And if we can get to the point where our own will has become the same as God's will, then we have become TRULY FREE. Psalm 143:10 says: "Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness." I like to think of it as:

"Let my will and thy will be one."

Don't click on anything! Just sit and wait and eventually you will get to see the show ... there are 5 images. Trust me ... it's worth the wait : )

Fellowship

I just got back from the Wednesday Night Alive meal and fellowship at the church. It was like being with family for a special occasion, all of us sitting around one big table, enjoying home-cooked food and good company. It was wonderful.

THANKSGIVING

Today is Thanksgiving Day. We give thanks for all the blessings in our lives. Praise God. Especially for God's mercy am I grateful. Even though we are so far from perfect, God has mercy and loves us nevertheless. God's love is patient and kind. God's love never ends.

Mission Accomplished

All are back safe and sound. They arrived in Orofino 6:15 pm last night. We have missed them! There will be so much they have to share with us. God bless.

Diversity

Pastor Matthew reported that Friday they were up at 6:15 am, packed, cleaned up the church and turned in evaluations of their week-long mission experience. Altogether there had been 40 people (including the adults) from 3 different churches. In addition to our youth from ELCA Ascension Lutheran Church, there were Youth from an ELCA Lutheran church in Bellingham, Washington and a Catholic church group from Bloomington, Minnesota. The sponsoring church gave them breakfast, they said their good-byes, and by 8:30 they were on their way to do some final sight-seeing.

They went to Pier 39 where there were tons of shops and a variety of street performers. There were magic tricks and card tricks, a lady singing jazz who was really good, and two performers were silver from head to toe. Even their faces were painted silver. They had a boombox playing music and they did a robot-like dance. At times they would stand perfectly still and not even seem human. Sights also included 10-12 sea lions.

Another sight was Haight-Ashbury where "the hippie thing is still in full swing". This is "the 40th Anniversary of the '67 Summer of Love" so pastor explained about that. There were lots of really great shops, including second-hand shops with great funky clothes. Jesse found a bright orange blazer. From then on he was easy to spot in a crowd.

Lunch was at "In and Out Burger", followed by more sight-seeing. They did go to Fisherman's Wharf. It was cold and windy. There was a mist coming off the water. They went to Castro - a street and area in San Francisco populated by gays and lesbians. "There was a lot of diversity," Pastor said. There were guys holding hands. The residents of that area were proud of their culture. They also got crabby toward tourists who stared.

In their travels they came across people who liked to dress in dark clothes and wear a lot of leather. Many had tattoos and wild hair - some spiked and some in unusual colors.

After a full day of seeing sights in San Francisco, they crossed the Bay Bridge and headed to Berkley. They spent the night at the Lutheran Church of the Cross, which is an interesting church that operates a homeless shelter for teenage runaways. The next morning they noticed some scary-looking street toughened men outside washing cars. Eventually some of the youth approached them and found out that they were in a program called "Options" which helps drug addicts break away from a life of drug use.

They were near Reno when Pastor called in this information yesterday afternoon. They were headed to Winnemucca and a nice motel where they could "lounge by the pool".