Deus Misereatur

  I've been hearing a bit about moral injury for combat veterans for a while, so I was interested in this book for myself and any others I cross paths with. Marcus Farris, health coach and post-traumatic growth director for Mission 22 and an officer in the Reserves, has compiled a helpful manual for those dealing with forms of PTSD and moral injury. "Return: Life after Moral Injury" is a 264-page hardback that is nicely illustrated by Emily Mills. The illustrations turn from sketchy black-and-white at the beginning to colorful pieces, exhibiting how a reader can be changing and becoming healthier as they work through the book. I loved that quiet little visual nuance.  Much of the work seems to be based on archetype stories that run through ancient classics, such as the Iliad, the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Bible, and other sources. But also archetypes in more modern renditions such as Marvel's series The Avengers, and more. The book had a Jordan Peterson-esque flavor to m...

Holy Father, our Lord Jesus once proclaimed: “ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust .” [1] Therefore, we praise you who sends sun and rain on the just and the unjust, who provides food for the good and the evil, thank you for your tender mercies enjoyed by so many. O God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom the whole heavens adore; let the whole earth worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you; and men, women, girls and boys everywhere love you and serve you in peace through Jesus Christ. We ask this especially for families, neighbors, co-workers, and friends we know (…). Almighty God, we pray for your church world-over and in the greater OKC area, especially Maranatha Baptist Church, Mustang Church of the Nazarene, 1st Nazarene Yukon, and Nehemiah Baptist. We pra...

  (The following has two reasons for existence. First, I have been pondering Philippians 1:25-26 for the last year, especially since I am growing older. This is part of my personal reflections for myself. Second, this is also for my congregation as we prepare to ordain/install new deacons and an elder and recognize many other church ministry leaders in our congregation on 8 September 2024. You can listen to this here: " Remain and Continue .")   [24] But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. [25] Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, [26] so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. (Philippians 1:24-25) Brothers and sisters, life is given to us for the service of others. I know that our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever, but we’re also made to live in service of others. And that recognition says quite a bit to ...

  [This is from my letter to my congregation sent out today - 4 September 2024] Yesterday (Tuesday) I received a phone call from our neighbor across the street from our house. Labor Day (Monday) was a perfect storm for them. While they were out of town and traveling back to OKC, some kid in a Go-Kart lost control of his contraption and it slammed into their garage, destroying the bottom panel of their garage door. The hole left was big enough for a grown adult to easily crawl through. The kid was fine, but simply drove away without telling them (it’s all recorded on a security camera). On top of this – something I didn’t know – is that our neighbor lost her sister suddenly a few days before. And they were out of town helping her grieving brother-in-law get the house in order to sell. The kid slamming into her garage door just tipped her over into a dark emotional pit. After they returned home on Monday, Anna and I went out for a walk. [1] Our neighbor was out in the yard yanking u...

  Lord, you said, “ Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ” We pray for your church here and world over, including Lutheran Church of Our Savior, The Lord’s House, Lord of Love Lutheran, and Madison St. Church of God. Instead of her looking for earthly fame or fortune, please replenish her with your own steadying strength, stabilizing aid, resilient love, long-lasting commitment, unwavering godliness and sound doctrine, so that her treasure and heart will always be deposited with you.   You also warned us, “ No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. ” We pray for heretics and hucksters, fo...

  A friend of mine who has a child on the Autism spectrum showed me this little 42-page workbook. This is what the child's counselor recommended, and I asked if I could borrow it. Kari Dunn Buron, an Autism Education Specialist and a founding member of the Minnesota Autism Project, has given parents, counselors and educators a nifty tool that can aid children on the spectrum in working through relationships and social contacts. Her goal in this book is "to use a simple 5 point scale to create some possible "guidelines" for thinking about context, and how that makes a difference" (v). It is the third book in a 4-part series called "The Incredible 5-Point Scale." The book is practical and immediately useable. It is packed full of real-life stories, with guidance on how to move toward a different result than the one experienced. There are also several worksheets that help kids to put pen-to-paper and start imagining new actions and directions. This book i...

[I sent this out to my congregation today in my weekly letter - 28 August 2024] Yesterday morning, as the sun was starting to rise, I was reading Joel. It’s only three chapters long, but the scene is fairly dismal. Plagues, pestilence, locusts, and other “covenant curses” God had promised in Leviticus 26 if his people were persistently unfaithful to him. That’s the sad part about Joel. All of these calamities are – in a sense – self-inflicted because God’s people have walked away from the Lord. And yet the Lord is beckoning his people to turn around: “ Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster ” (Joel 2:13). To rouse the people’s return, the Lord then calls on the priests, the ministers of God, to spend some concerted time in remorse and repentant prayer. This repentant prayer is what caught my attention yesterday. It’s Joel 2:17: Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the min...