During this past few weeks Kris and I both had the opportunity to spend some personal time with a member of our congregation who just passed away yesterday. And while we have not been particularly close during the past 30 some years, strangely, that has changed over the past year or so. Sadly, we probably did not know her as well as she knew us.
Joann started to have Kris do her hair about a year ago, and slowly our relationship changed. Ed started to have me fill their prescriptions. Joann told Kris how much they both honor and respect us. Wow, news to us, we never knew. Ed has started to even stop by weekly at the store just to say hello. We have discovered that they are not the people who we thought they were. Somehow, we changed, or they changed… more likely than not, we all changed.
Now, just when we had begun this new friendship or relationship, Joann developed cancer. She faded quickly. Early on, Ed would continue to bring Joann in to have her hair done, but that did not last long. Joann told Kris that we was ready to meet her maker, and did not fear the end. During the past few months, Ed had stopped in almost daily, and I saw the tears in his eyes. He shared some of his deepest emotions. Joann and Ed both were able to talk about their faith… pretty hard for old Lutherans. We too often keep our faith to ourselves… we think that it is a private thing, hard to share. In the end, it became easier for Joann.
I remember telling Kris last week that Ed and I agreed that she would not last long, maybe another week at the most. We were right.
Joann will be missed! Ed has joined the growing group of other widows and widowers at church. He will grieve. Kris and I will both grieve. The community at church will grieve that loss of Joann. The world will not be the same. As I write this, I realize that we were better friends than I even imagined. Strangely, I feel that I will morn Ed’s loss of his wife Joann more than I have mourned for anyone in a long time.
On Sunday, we had the opportunity to show off our grandson Jacob to our friends at church. Andy and Becky spent the weekend with us. It was really awesome to be able to share with our church community the joy we have and to see the real joy that they expressed in our new addition. Kris stood up to show off Jacob to all. Friends circled our little family and came up to see and to hold Jacob and to congratulate the proud grandparents. It was real community in action.
I use the word community often. I love the word…both its overt meaning and also all of the wonderful complexities of the word. I firmly believe that God calls us into community. Pastor Lenander reminded us in his sermon on Sunday that it is in community where we share with others. He reminded us that in community, together we share great joys and we share great sorrows. I have found that it is in community were sorrow meets joy.
Just as this community of believers embraced our family on Sunday, the community will also circle around Ed and embrace him. We will do this because that is what you do when you are a part of a community. That is what community is. We are community. We are in community with God. Living in community is a faith response to the God who first loved us.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
God is God
We went to a musical program last night put on by a group of youth called "Mansion Builders" from Stamford, NE. They are a choir from rural communities around Stamford and have been touring the midwest for 19 years. The program "My Generation: A Truth Story" was great. It focused on the issues and problem that many youth of this generation face. Great music.... great dialogue...great message.
One of the songs was a rendition of a Steven Curtis Chapman song from a number of years ago... "God is God". The refrain is:
God is God and I am not
I can only see a part of the picture He’s painting
God is God and I am man
So I’ll never understand it all
For only God is God
A good reminder for all, especially when things don't go in your the way you want them to. We are reminded that we have a God who walks with us, and is there for us, in spite of our own attempts to control.
One of the songs was a rendition of a Steven Curtis Chapman song from a number of years ago... "God is God". The refrain is:
God is God and I am not
I can only see a part of the picture He’s painting
God is God and I am man
So I’ll never understand it all
For only God is God
A good reminder for all, especially when things don't go in your the way you want them to. We are reminded that we have a God who walks with us, and is there for us, in spite of our own attempts to control.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Dont let a good stroller go to waste
Our new grandson really doesn't like his stroller. We were trying to take a walk with little Jake, his parents and their dog Rocket. Jacob made it real clear that his idea of a walk was not riding in the stroller... so Andy put the stoller to good use. Langdon dogs have always been spoiled.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Financial Tip of the Week
Financial Tip #4
Keep a financial reserve.... enough money put aside for an emergency.
I do not know what your emergency will be, but you will have one. Ours was the loss of our beloved van.
We had planned to keep it running for years to come. But alas it died. So.... we needed cash, like right now!
The choice was a used van or a new van. As we reviewed in Quicken what we had truly spent on repairs to the van over the years, no matter how much we loved the van, the styling, and upholstery, the ride, etc.... it became obvious that we were really just emotionally attached. The van had cost us way too much money in repairs over the years. So, buying another Chrysler Town and Country simply did not make much sense.
Our friends have have Honda Odysseys over the years and have loved them. So we priced out a used one through numerous dealers in the Kansas City area. Wow, they really depreciate slowly, just like my friend Steve said. Not like the used Chrysler products we also looked at.
But, if we were to spend that much, lets just toy with a new van... and low and behold, dealers really are willing and anxious to make a deal during this economy, just to sell a car. We are able to get a new Honda Odyssey for almost the same money as a 2 year old one would cost.
Bottom line, the money in our emergency savings went a long way to help pay for the van and the dealer gave me $2000 for my old van, which they had to go get from the repair shop. Not a bad deal!
The importance of the emergency savings was obvious to us. Now we will spend time this year building it back up. Without it, we would be looking at a 6% car loan and would have probably settled for a used van, and still would have spent about the exact same money.
The emergency savings you build will help in real emergencies as well as help you make better financial decisions when they are needed.
Keep a financial reserve.... enough money put aside for an emergency.
I do not know what your emergency will be, but you will have one. Ours was the loss of our beloved van.
We had planned to keep it running for years to come. But alas it died. So.... we needed cash, like right now!
The choice was a used van or a new van. As we reviewed in Quicken what we had truly spent on repairs to the van over the years, no matter how much we loved the van, the styling, and upholstery, the ride, etc.... it became obvious that we were really just emotionally attached. The van had cost us way too much money in repairs over the years. So, buying another Chrysler Town and Country simply did not make much sense.
Our friends have have Honda Odysseys over the years and have loved them. So we priced out a used one through numerous dealers in the Kansas City area. Wow, they really depreciate slowly, just like my friend Steve said. Not like the used Chrysler products we also looked at.
But, if we were to spend that much, lets just toy with a new van... and low and behold, dealers really are willing and anxious to make a deal during this economy, just to sell a car. We are able to get a new Honda Odyssey for almost the same money as a 2 year old one would cost.
Bottom line, the money in our emergency savings went a long way to help pay for the van and the dealer gave me $2000 for my old van, which they had to go get from the repair shop. Not a bad deal!
The importance of the emergency savings was obvious to us. Now we will spend time this year building it back up. Without it, we would be looking at a 6% car loan and would have probably settled for a used van, and still would have spent about the exact same money.
The emergency savings you build will help in real emergencies as well as help you make better financial decisions when they are needed.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
The Van is Dead... Bummer!
Just when you think things are going smooth in life, there is often something that comes around the corner you did not expect... and whoosh, the air is taken out of your sails.
We are really a spoiled lot. Our culture and way of life almost demands that a couple have 2 vehicles. We often work at different times. We are involved in different things at church. Kris has her Pilate's... I have my bible study, etc. When we have had a car in the shop for some repair, we really struggle on the schedule, making sure that we coordinate our activities.
Last week our van died. It was almost 9 years old, but it looked great! We have everything on it that we need and want. It as relatively low mileage. It has new tires, battery, on-board computer, power windows.... we felt, what else could go wrong. It will last another 100,000 miles. It was going to continue to be our trip car. But no.....
Last week James and Jen we driving the van home from a Trivia fund-raiser evening at our church. Kris was riding home with me... (2 cars, because of our schedules). The van suddenly lost power . We caught up with them and I managed to get the van to our favorite car repair place.
Our mechanic JR spent a week trying to fix the poor puppy. The computer codes gave him a start on what was wrong. We put in a new manifold injector, but the thing would not idle. It is bad news when your mechanic calls you and says, "we have to talk.... in person!" Bottom line, the wiring harness burned up... a short somewhere along caused the wires to literally melt and fuse together. The problem is that a wiring harness itself cost about $1700, then it can take up to 12 plus hours to install it test all of the numerous electrical sensors. His last job similar to this cost about $5000. Then there would be the problem of what else in the electrical system got fried because of the obvious electrical surge. It cost me over $1000 to come to that conclusion.
Clearly, no matter how attached you are to a material object, no matter what the emotions are, you have to be real. The blue book value of the van is only $3500 or so. If we put $5000 into it, it had better last a real, real, real long time, and give you a lot of pleasure.
One option was to purchase another "junked" van and use it for parts, and do it myself...NOT! This is something that my good friend Scott would have loved to tinker with, and spend countless weeknights playing with, but I feel very confident that his wife Shari would have hated to have him spending time on, and would have cursed me endlessly.
So, the van is dead... bummer. Got to find a new van. I read somewhere that a very sizable number of minivans are bought by empty-nesters. As Kris and I have debated on what to do, we have come to the conclusion that we too will get another minivan. They are just too practical and comfortable on the road. Also, that way others can continue to enjoy taking road trips with us.
So, the hunt for a new minivan is on. Make your reservations with us soon. Tickets are available.
We are really a spoiled lot. Our culture and way of life almost demands that a couple have 2 vehicles. We often work at different times. We are involved in different things at church. Kris has her Pilate's... I have my bible study, etc. When we have had a car in the shop for some repair, we really struggle on the schedule, making sure that we coordinate our activities.
Last week our van died. It was almost 9 years old, but it looked great! We have everything on it that we need and want. It as relatively low mileage. It has new tires, battery, on-board computer, power windows.... we felt, what else could go wrong. It will last another 100,000 miles. It was going to continue to be our trip car. But no.....
Last week James and Jen we driving the van home from a Trivia fund-raiser evening at our church. Kris was riding home with me... (2 cars, because of our schedules). The van suddenly lost power . We caught up with them and I managed to get the van to our favorite car repair place.
Our mechanic JR spent a week trying to fix the poor puppy. The computer codes gave him a start on what was wrong. We put in a new manifold injector, but the thing would not idle. It is bad news when your mechanic calls you and says, "we have to talk.... in person!" Bottom line, the wiring harness burned up... a short somewhere along caused the wires to literally melt and fuse together. The problem is that a wiring harness itself cost about $1700, then it can take up to 12 plus hours to install it test all of the numerous electrical sensors. His last job similar to this cost about $5000. Then there would be the problem of what else in the electrical system got fried because of the obvious electrical surge. It cost me over $1000 to come to that conclusion.
Clearly, no matter how attached you are to a material object, no matter what the emotions are, you have to be real. The blue book value of the van is only $3500 or so. If we put $5000 into it, it had better last a real, real, real long time, and give you a lot of pleasure.
One option was to purchase another "junked" van and use it for parts, and do it myself...NOT! This is something that my good friend Scott would have loved to tinker with, and spend countless weeknights playing with, but I feel very confident that his wife Shari would have hated to have him spending time on, and would have cursed me endlessly.
So, the van is dead... bummer. Got to find a new van. I read somewhere that a very sizable number of minivans are bought by empty-nesters. As Kris and I have debated on what to do, we have come to the conclusion that we too will get another minivan. They are just too practical and comfortable on the road. Also, that way others can continue to enjoy taking road trips with us.
So, the hunt for a new minivan is on. Make your reservations with us soon. Tickets are available.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Vacancy Light is On
Our friend Kim and her 3 little ones are leaving today for Lincoln after spending the past 3 weeks with us. They have joined the litany of friends and strangers that have been invited to find respite, comfort and sanctuary at Jeff and Kris's "Appletree Inn" over the years.
Our guests have been those who are “in transition” in their lives, those who simply need a place to stay for an extended period because of a job or education, and sadly, those who need shelter from an abusive relationship.
They have been family like our niece Angie and her family who live in Bolivia. They have been seminary students doing an internship at Heartland Regional Medical Center. There have been others like the young lady with her daughter leaving a husband who was abusing them. Our pastor has sent us strangers who just needed a place to stay for the summer. This list goes on.
I remember that when I was a child, our family would on occasion take in people to stay with us. One I remember was Dr. Nelson Trout, a pastor who later became the first black bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and a seminary professor at Trinity Lutheran Seminary. He would stay with us whenever he came thru town, However, these were all very short stays. I don't know where Kris and I picked up our inkeepers role.
However, we have always been richly blessed over the years by those who have stayed with us, and we hope that they have been blessed by us. We only had one guest who really, I mean really outstayed her welcome.
We will miss Kim and the kids. The neighbor girls have certainly enjoyed the extra kids to play with over the past month. They have provided additional distractions for our dogs…. Cooper and Moses, as well as our doggy guests, Bailey and Gibson who belong to daughter Jenni. The house will be much too quiet when they leave.
But there is a downside to all of our company.
There are two basic reasons one owns dogs. The first is companionship. Our dogs do companionship very well. The second is often security. Dogs are supposed to be good “watch dogs”. They are supposed to alert you when someone comes to the door. Our dogs do that very well, thank you. The issue is that once you are in the house, our dogs are probably so accustomed to the many others in their lives, that they basically know no stranger.
I guess that should provide solace to the next guests that we have.
Come on in. The upstairs is ready for you. Make yourself at home. Just turn off the lights when you tuck yourself in. Don’t mind the dogs. Lock up when you leave.
Our guests have been those who are “in transition” in their lives, those who simply need a place to stay for an extended period because of a job or education, and sadly, those who need shelter from an abusive relationship.
They have been family like our niece Angie and her family who live in Bolivia. They have been seminary students doing an internship at Heartland Regional Medical Center. There have been others like the young lady with her daughter leaving a husband who was abusing them. Our pastor has sent us strangers who just needed a place to stay for the summer. This list goes on.
I remember that when I was a child, our family would on occasion take in people to stay with us. One I remember was Dr. Nelson Trout, a pastor who later became the first black bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and a seminary professor at Trinity Lutheran Seminary. He would stay with us whenever he came thru town, However, these were all very short stays. I don't know where Kris and I picked up our inkeepers role.
However, we have always been richly blessed over the years by those who have stayed with us, and we hope that they have been blessed by us. We only had one guest who really, I mean really outstayed her welcome.
We will miss Kim and the kids. The neighbor girls have certainly enjoyed the extra kids to play with over the past month. They have provided additional distractions for our dogs…. Cooper and Moses, as well as our doggy guests, Bailey and Gibson who belong to daughter Jenni. The house will be much too quiet when they leave.
But there is a downside to all of our company.
There are two basic reasons one owns dogs. The first is companionship. Our dogs do companionship very well. The second is often security. Dogs are supposed to be good “watch dogs”. They are supposed to alert you when someone comes to the door. Our dogs do that very well, thank you. The issue is that once you are in the house, our dogs are probably so accustomed to the many others in their lives, that they basically know no stranger.
I guess that should provide solace to the next guests that we have.
Come on in. The upstairs is ready for you. Make yourself at home. Just turn off the lights when you tuck yourself in. Don’t mind the dogs. Lock up when you leave.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
A No Guilt Margarita
When we were on the cruise, we indulged in the fine art of the Margarita. Jeff has always enjoyed them… we have a couple Mexican restaurants here that do a pretty awesome Margarita. Kris has tried a strawberry Margaritas in the past, but seems to really have gotten into the real thing on this trip.
While in Galveston, we went to a restaurant called Tortugas on Sunday evening and had an awesome top shelf Margarita. Kris had asked about the drink specials, and we were told to that on Mondays, they have Margaritas for $1.50 until 5pm. Our cruise was scheduled to start boarding at 1:30, so it would appear that we would miss the Monday drink specials.
But, a bargain is a bargain, and a special is a special. One Jeff''s favorite things to do is to save money....So guess what, Monday morning before the cruise was to leave at about 3pm, we were at Tortuga’s at 11:30 for drinks and a little light lunch. Again, very Yummy!
Now, because the drinks on the cruise are expensive, we limited ourselves. But at the cooking school in Mexico, the Margaritas and Pina Coladas flowed freely and were free! So we partook freely too.
The downside of that is that we both came back home with a renewed thirst for more. Jeff took daughter Jenni for a Margarita at 10pm one night while Kris was in Minnesota. Yumm!
However, as the scales have testified, Margaritas are not known as a low calorie drink. In fact, the typical Margarita is just over 500 calories. So, you can not indulge without significant guilt and putting on excess poundage… neither of which we need or want in our lives.
So, with a little experimentation, Jeff came up with a diet and low- calorie Margarita.
2oz tequila
1oz triple sec
½ oz Lime Juice
½ oz Lemon Juice
Fresca – add to taste
This makes 2 drinks- add shaved ice or serve on the rocks. Rub a lime slice around the rim of the glass and dip in a plate of salt.
The Fresca adds some sparkle, and no calories. This should end up being about 70 calories per drink. Varying the amount or ratio of tequila and triple sec will vary the taste, but this is what we ended up preferring. We even went out and bought some Margarita style glasses.
Next, we will try adding some strawberry Crystal Light and some berry pieces for variety, with sugar on the rims.
Let us know when you want to come over for some cool drinks.
While in Galveston, we went to a restaurant called Tortugas on Sunday evening and had an awesome top shelf Margarita. Kris had asked about the drink specials, and we were told to that on Mondays, they have Margaritas for $1.50 until 5pm. Our cruise was scheduled to start boarding at 1:30, so it would appear that we would miss the Monday drink specials.
But, a bargain is a bargain, and a special is a special. One Jeff''s favorite things to do is to save money....So guess what, Monday morning before the cruise was to leave at about 3pm, we were at Tortuga’s at 11:30 for drinks and a little light lunch. Again, very Yummy!
Now, because the drinks on the cruise are expensive, we limited ourselves. But at the cooking school in Mexico, the Margaritas and Pina Coladas flowed freely and were free! So we partook freely too.
The downside of that is that we both came back home with a renewed thirst for more. Jeff took daughter Jenni for a Margarita at 10pm one night while Kris was in Minnesota. Yumm!
However, as the scales have testified, Margaritas are not known as a low calorie drink. In fact, the typical Margarita is just over 500 calories. So, you can not indulge without significant guilt and putting on excess poundage… neither of which we need or want in our lives.
So, with a little experimentation, Jeff came up with a diet and low- calorie Margarita.
2oz tequila
1oz triple sec
½ oz Lime Juice
½ oz Lemon Juice
Fresca – add to taste
This makes 2 drinks- add shaved ice or serve on the rocks. Rub a lime slice around the rim of the glass and dip in a plate of salt.
The Fresca adds some sparkle, and no calories. This should end up being about 70 calories per drink. Varying the amount or ratio of tequila and triple sec will vary the taste, but this is what we ended up preferring. We even went out and bought some Margarita style glasses.
Next, we will try adding some strawberry Crystal Light and some berry pieces for variety, with sugar on the rims.
Let us know when you want to come over for some cool drinks.
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