And ecumenical dialogue for Easter

Deanne and Mrs. T.
Photograph by Ray (A. K. A.) Troutbirder
A religious dialogue between an evangelical Baptist, my beautiful loving daughter-in-law Deanne and myself Troutbirder who is perhaps a skeptic or even a secular humanist. The dialogue that follows stems from my noting to  Deanne some of my favorite parts of the New Testament. Well, I have some issues with the Old as with that eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth stuff. Each part of the dialogue begins with my comments some favorite passages and Deanne’s take on those comments. Enjoy or comment on them in the comments section yourself. :-) Remember however this is not red state versus blue state stuff, nor zero sum debates but between two people who love and care for each other.

  Hi Ray!

 I'm presently at my 2nd of 3 jobs I have.  My client  was born with a rare chromosomal handicap. .  He spent the first 5 months of his life at Children's hospital.  I was blessed to start working with him when he finally came home--a little "peanut" of a boy, with a sweet smile and pretty auburn hair.  He's my dear "Billy"  I just love him to pieces and am truly blessed to know him and his family.

 

Speaking of "blessed,"  the Sermon on the Mount is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible (Matthew 5).  It truly makes sense that you love that chapter, as well, Ray.  From your insight on each verse, backed up by the way you have lived, one can easily see you have a deep passion (from God, I believe) to help and advocate for the less fortunate--the ones who suffer...the lost...the lonely...the disabled...the weak...the poor...the unprotected...the vulnerable...the overlooked...the forgotten.  I have ALWAYS seen Jesus in you, Ray--but reading your take on the Beatitudes, definitely added another dimension to the beauty of your soul. 

 Not that my opinion matters, but since you asked me to comment on your take on the Beatitudes, I will do so now, for you...

 

"Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  I think that may mean something about depression.  And I know it saved you and Barb when Ted went there to be with God.  Thank you for saying that, Ray.  When Ted went to Heaven, not only was my husband gone but so were my dreams and my future.  That's why it took me so long to regain my footing because TED had been my footing.  I had to turn my pain, depression, and FUTURE over to Jesus or I would have never made it.  Being "poor in spirit" meant relying solely on Jesus--the only One who could heal my pain and give me HOPE again.  And He did.  From that whole heart-wrenching trauma I came to realize REALITY that we are ALL passing away...that we are all dying.  And I can't tie my anchor onto anyone or anything that is passing away. I can only tie it onto the One who gave His life for me and is preparing a place for me in eternity.  Two of my favorite Bible verses are John 3:16-17, which I'm sure you know: 16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

 

"Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted." That also covers the previous one.  I also know I've had a share of that business in my life.  Yes, you have, Ray.  Mental illness is no respecter of persons and it has dug it's ugly claws into too many of your beloved family members.  I can't IMAGINE the anguish you've had to endure, especially with losing your beloved son.   I do so hope the Lord comforted you in those valleys of darkness and carried you in His loving arms until the sun (AND Son) shone on your face again.

 

"Blessed are the meek for they shall possess the earth."  I hope that's true for they deserve it the most.  You are soooo right, Ray.  Ok--here comes my fiery opinion...(watch out!wink)  It is this point that makes me righteously angry with BOTH the republican and democratic parties.  Both parties talk out of both sides of their mouths. Scripture AND the constitution are clear that ALL life is important and valuable--whether you're of the 97% who are born with no birth defects or of the 3% who ARE born with so-called defects, whether you're Christian or Atheist or Muslim, whether you're one skin color or another, whether you're heterosexual or homosexual, whether you're a woman or a man or unsure of your gender, whether you live within the  "walls" of the United States or outside the "walls" of the United States, whether you live within the "wall" of a womb or on the outside of the "wall" of a womb...ALL life is important.   And I, too, hope the MEEKEST of the meek possess the earth someday.  The last WILL be first.

 

"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied."  Another core value for me and it should as well be for our country and many others.  But as a country we have failed that many times because of many things including prejudice racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. etc.    I completely agree.  And I would also add in there that this country has failed because of greed, selfishness, and disrespect for God and for our neighbor.

 

"Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy."  Yes indeed, the good Samaritan.  I love that story of the Good Samaritan.  Did you know that in Jesus' day, the Samaritans were looked down upon because they weren't purebred?  (That goes back to when the Assyrians conquered the northern tribes of Israel and many of the areas of those regions--AKA, Samaria became "mixed" then).  Yet, it was the "unclean" and "mixed" person from Samaria who helped the half-dead traveler on the road.  We ALL need to be good Samaritans!  The world would definitely become a better place if we did!

 

"Blessed are the clean of heart for they shall see God."  I'm not sure what clean means here but under my sainted mother's direction I was a long time member of the clean plate club.  Hahahahaha!!!!  I love your sense of humor!  But back to the verse,  I think "clean of heart" here means asking God to forgive us of our sins and then seeking to do what God wants.  I always think of Psalm 51 when David was so remorseful for his sins and he cried out to God, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."

 

"Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God."  The very best people in the world who follow the teachings of Jesus, and knowing what I know now, would not have volunteered to fight in Vietnam nor any of our subsequent wars.  Word war II yes--it was a fight against an evil man in system, including the Holocaust, likely the worst kind ever.  Trying to exterminate one religion by another tribe on the basis of race and religion.  I really don't think I have the right to comment on this one because I don't know much about ANY war except World War II, and I was never deeply rooted in a military family.  My dad was in the National Guard and so was Troy, but otherwise, I really don't take a side on anything with the wars (mainly because I'm ignorant--unlike you, who knows a lot). I DO respect your opinion, though, on this matter.  But back to the verse,  Jesus says that any who try to make peace shall be called children of God.  I don't know about anyone else, but I  certainly want to be a child of God so I will do all I can to be at peace with everyone.  The writer of Hebrews reiterated the statement, when he wrote, "14Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the LORD." (Hebrews 12:14). And you're more than right about the Holocaust (of the Jews or ANY other group of people) being BRUTAL, inhumane, and EVIL.  Hitler and his wicked cohorts are definitely reaping now what they sowed during their time on earth.  They were NOT children of God--and because of that, they are in a place where God IS NOT.

 

"Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice's sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  Well, justice and mercy have somewhat been covered so I will mention heaven.  I mostly believe that heaven and hell are here on earth as God gave us the ability to make choices; thus heaven is here on earth and is made by mankind's choice of love or hate. My take on the verse is that Jesus for-warned us  that anyone who follows Him WILL be persecuted-- It's a given.  And as the end draws closer, evil will continue to ramp up and will try to snuff out Jesus' commands of "Love God first" and "Love your neighbor as yourself," and also His Great Commission to spread the Good News about Him.   But we WILL be rewarded in the end for following Him, believing in Him, and for receiving Him as our Lord and Savior.  In my beloved mother's obituary it was stated that all her suffering (which can be synonymous with persecution) had been replaced with the crown of righteousness. (2 Timothy 4:7-8).  

 

Moving on to your take on "the kingdom of heaven"--it's interesting!  Thank you for confiding in  me, in writing, and also in person, your "beliefs" on heaven and hell.   Do you mind if  I share with you another segment of favorite Scripture verses (I have a gazillion, by the wayteeth_smile).  In John 14, Jesus is comforting His disciples.  They know He is about to die soon.  This is what He says:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going'

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 7

 

Just as Jesus was comforting His disciples with this assurance, He also comforts ME with these promises that He's coming back one day to take me to my new Home--my permanent Home with Him (and with Ted and my mom and grandma and with YOUR mom and dad).  I can't wait!  But until that day happens, I have a lot of living to do yet here and a lot of GIVING to do yet unto others.  --NOT because my salvation depends on it but because I WANT to do it in joyful response to what Jesus did for me.   I am saved because I have a SAVIOR--and one day I will reside with Him WHEREVER Heaven is located.

 

So how did I do on my commentary??  Yes, I admit I'm opinionated, but hey--I DO have a mind, a heart, and a will of my own!  God made each of us uniquely--made in His image, but still UNIQUE.  I'm glad I'm unique.  And I'm glad YOU'RE unique, too, Ray.

 

Blessed are the...  blessed is ME!!  --To have a Savior, to have life, to have love, and to have BEAUTIFUL people in my life like you, Barb, and Ted.   I hope you feel blessed, too, Ray!!

 

I would love to come to church with you one of these upcoming Sundays in March!  I'm going to shoot for March 17 or March 24th.  I would feel honored to attend with you, hear the sermon, greet your fellow Spring Valley Methodists, and have Sunday treats with the friendly female parishioners.  Sounds like it would be a perfect start to a new week!  I will talk to you about it soon.

 

Hope you have a joy-filled weekend, Ray! 

I love you!

--Deanne

Spring time robins and Barb

It Was about a week ago when the 12 foot snow drifts in my backyard had finally disappeared. I removed my snowblower from our garage where I could plug it in and start with the electric starter. Then off it went to our garden shed and I began checking out the lawn tractor. I was obviously getting ready for grass. Two days after all this, unprepared for a nighttime sleet/rain/ice/thunderstorm, with power outages all over southern Minnesota, I woke up to find a real mess. A day after  that I noted a large flock of migrating robins wandering around my backyard on top of 4 inches of snow covered by an inch of ice. This is their story.......

Well, to tell the truth, I don't know a whole lot about robins except they like angle worms and night crawlers for lunch. That for sure wasn't going to work here. I do remember though one time flyfishing though  on a forested trout stream in Montana, watching a large group of robins fly across the stream where they were catching flying insects. Now, that's what swallows and other small diving swooping dodging birds do to catch their prey rising  from the water itself. Those are small insects that fly fisherman emulate to catch the trout. This time though they were 3 inch long salmon flies, huge flies that big trout and a big awkward bird like a robin just might catch for his own lunch. And they were. I was amazed watching them do it. Actually, it's often what  senior citizens have to do when physical infirmities force us to change our lifestyles. For those robins it was adapting to a different opportunity for lunch.

Since then I've learned that robins do that adapting all the time in ways I've never seen. They go to birdfeeders. They will eat suet out of the cages that the woodpeckers  like. Some don't migrate south to leave the colder climates of the upper Midwest. Perhaps, someday further north of us, they will be found in Manitoba or Ontario or.... Even further as climate change reeks its destruction on the worlds ecosystems.

About a week ago or so on the first sunny warm day Barb and I spent time outdoors soaking up the sun. Other people with dementia joined us  and soon I did my "thing" greeted them all, tried to get them mostly  laughing, even smiling. As the aids began bringing out people in wheelchairs, we put all the chairs in a large circle so we could see each other and enjoy the day together. Too much excitement in dementia land is not always good so when that happened I proposed we do this once a week and suggested we give our new club a name. Several names were offered by the group and the winner was the sunshine club. As  the meeting adjourned I carefully had chosen not to mention that a blizzard  was forecast for the next night and it might be a while before the sunshine club could meet again. It was a good day for all and particularly for Barb who especially enjoys the camaraderie and the friendship social gatherings. The corker, however, was shortly later that same day Barb and I were standing in the luncheon area and three people came around the corner from the hallway. These were people I had never seen before because one of them was a new resident who had only been in memory care for three days. What turned out to be her daughter came rushing up to Barb saying" Oh Barb so glad to see you again," which was followed by hugs and more hugs. Her husband followed up with a friendly greeting to me and Barb. I then introduced myself as Barb's husband and wondered how they knew Barb. The woman then explained and told me that her mother was so frightened and  upset when she came to Cottagewood two days before that Barb had approached and offered to be the elder ladies friend, told her the apartments were very nice and  wondered if she could take her hand by show her around. That of course is the real Barb I've known and loved more than 53 years now..

 

An April Ditty

A Mrs. T. often reminded me on April mornings...
"Oh there you are Merry Sunshine,
What makes you rise so soon?
You scared away the little stars
And  shined away the moon.
The grass is green.
The flowers are riz!
Oh! There you are,
you blooming idiot

Okay. So I'd just gotten up and was only slightly cranky. The fact that the weather report for today the 10 of April indicates up to 8 inches of snow this after hasn't helped my mood either...:(

Becoming

So this morning I just finished Becoming by Michelle Obama. This much discussed book is likely or has already been identified as the most read or listened to autobiography/memoir of all time. Some of my former students, of this long retired history teacher would no doubt find it hard to believe, when I say, for this review I’m at a loss for words. What is there to say that won’t sound like a bunch of hackneyed clichés or overdrawn superlatives?' I'll try to choose my words carefully and with restraint.

Becoming is a book exactly about that. How a child and then a young girl grew up first in a racially diverse mostly blue-collar working-class neighborhood on the south side Chicago. Her rock-solid family was anchored by  a father who despite serious physical handicaps worked a full-time job for the city, never complained and brought laughter and fun to all those around him. Then there was her mother, who fostered in her children that with no excuses they should always strive to be the best that they could be. Incidentally, this should always include using proper grammar  Finally, there was an older brother who steadfastly protected his little sister and often paved the way for her on their mutual road to success. As we know, it is often the case that our early childhood sets the template for who we become.

Each following candid chapter reveals more and more of the becoming theme. Michelle’s high school years were marked by the effects of the white migration to the new suburbs. The south side of Chicago began to suffer the effects and trauma of poverty, crime and drugs. The self-actualization of the word "ghetto" only worsened the problems. In the mostly black high school, which Michelle attended, she was asked  "why are you so white?  Grammatically correct English was no doubt a factor there.

 In succeeding chapters we meet a striving young woman who regularly asked herself she was “good enough?” Needless to say she was both while attending an elite Ivy League university and beginning work at a Chicago law firm where she  hoped someday to become “a partner.” Obviously both of these institutions were largely white and mostly male-dominated.

 The next chapters becoming for Michelle involves an unlikely romance and marriage involving two people so different in their upbringing and lifestyle one can hardly imagine  how in the end it all works so well. Of course, the last becoming involves politics and the White House. Here the details are rich and compelling and  include an evolving marriage and raising two girls as normally as possible in the White House. There is some  disdain for politics  at the beginning of the stages but overall  little rancor,  Michelle’s tagline "when they go low, we go high” pretty well sums it all up what is left out in these final chapters. We saw all the lows on national television. The highs in those White House years when a special woman and her family did us all proud.

So now as I promised, without all the superlatives and clichés I could think of, I will  simply say this is the best autobiography/memoir I have ever read. And to those who for whatever reason have yet to read it I believe anyone who approaches this story with an open mind and a little empathy will find it touches the heart.

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@Barrie Summy

A message from my guardian angel

From my beautiful daughter-in-law, Deanne.

It seems that  my widowed daughter-in-law not only is Barbs and my guardian angel but she also has a gift for writing. The following excerpt from a recent letter she sent me gives a hint of that talent. The following take is from a list of complaints I vented to her. The best one though refers to the love and kisses I get from Barb when I arrive at memory care and the fact that she hangs on to me and won’t let go when I’m about to leave for our home.

Dearest Ray,
Even though your oak tree is dying, “Google” is monopolizing the internet, Verizon has robo customer service reps, robber-baron hospital and senior care companies have umpteen red tape hoops to jump thru, closed bank accounts unfortunately can no longer cash checks, and your energetic and vibrant wife of nearly 53 years still has the  intense hots for you, it’s good to know you  have your sense of humor intact😄...and that “Dragon” is a helpful dictator (ooh—now that’s an oxymoron!), or should I say is “helpful at dictating.”  I love that you are  a “half glass-full” kind-of guy—a realist BUT definitely an optimist 😁.

 

 

A bad day

Bad day

It was a really bad day off  and I came close very close to being killed twice driving. You gotta admit that’s a bad day.  Then the crummy weather forecast we've been having here here in Minnesota for months was really bad. Again. Of course, being gone all day to visit my wife in memory care forced our first ever house dog Lily into making a mistake  or two bedroom rugs.  Other than that I was notified that the pileated woodpecker who had visited my suet feeder for the first time in several  decades visited and began taking chunks of bark off the largest oak tree.  My friend Mr. science proceeded to inform me that my  the oak tree  was, no doubt, dying because somehow the woodpecker knows that and is  chipping away  because it prefers to eat the frozen worms under the bark causing the incipient fatality instead of the usually preferred suet.  Actually that's not all that made that day ""special". Instead I'll just  mention and explain why I had a bad day driving. Perhaps I was a bit distracted though I don't text. There were  10 foot drifts and snow piles along our gravel   road which heads down a hill to a busy highway. That highway has a curve in which speeding trucks appear suddenly.  Between that and the snow  I missed a speeding semi hauling a load of gasoline by about a second. I would’ve been toast. Later, that same day after visiting my tax specialist, I headed home about 30 miles. And shortly after leaving Harmony about five semi’s approached me from the other direction. Several unsecured items flew out of one of them and I only had time to duck as they flew right at me.  With the bang I ducked, held onto the steering wheel and was literally covered with shattered glass. Of course, the semi's kept on going and while I slid into the ditch. Fortunately I was mostly uninjured, though some small embedded glass was stuck into my palms where  I had gripped the steering wheel. I think that qualifies alone on having a bad day driving.  Yup. On the  much brighter side later I talked to my bride for 20 minutes from her new  abode in memory care. She was happy, joking, glad to be in her “apartment” in  Now in retrospect it really wasn’t that  bad a day. When I finally got home I had decided a black cloud had been following me. Later speaking to my daughter-in-law Deanne over the phone she  told me it was a good day because the good Lord and the guardian angels were watching over me. On second thought it was a really good day.....:)

Alzheimer's request

No new book review today, just a picture framed poem given to me by my friends and neighbors, Bruce and Rita H. As most of you are aware Mrs. T., My dearly beloved wife Barb, is now in memory care. I cried when I read  these words the first time, but now I think  they and might be very helpful for all those who meet friends, who are in the final stages of that horrible disease.
Alzheimer's request
Do not ask me to remember.
Don't try to make me understand,
kiss my cheek and hold my hand.

I'm confused beyond your concept,
I'm sad and sick and lost.
All I know is that I need you,
to be with me at all cost.

Do not lose your patience with me,
do not scold or curse or cry.
I can't help the way I'm acting,
I can't be different though I try.

Just remember that I need you,
that the best of me is gone.
Please don't fail to stand beside the me,
'til my life is gone.
Author not known.
Posted by Troutbirder (ray)

Finally a new book review on TroutbirderII

In 1996 modern library edition of two of Theodore Roosevelt's early books. Click on me and my friend Mark Twain in the picture above.