If I’ve had the chance to talk with you for any length of time, you’ve probably heard me say that one of the most impactful sermons we’ve heard over the years centers on biblical decision making. Why? Simply because the breaking of fellowship among believers is perhaps one of the most painful experiences to us humanly, and I believe grieving to God. Yet, due to our human nature, conflict abounds within all our relationships as commonly as anything we know. How then to deal with conflicts that are sure to arise & not sacrifice the fellowship we are called to be in? Let’s start with humility, respect and understanding of what’s really important and what isn’t.

The decision grid and most of what follows is from Pastor Chris Robinson of Grace Bible Church in Marshall, VA. He gave this message at least two if not three times between 1996 & 2004, with the effect that the unity we experienced at GBC we took for granted as commonplace in Christian fellowship. As time went on however we came to realize that unity, humility & respect is not as common as we thought & perhaps an intentional, thoughtful reasoning process was missing. Indeed, as a culture I’ve come to believe the process of reasoning & debate is largely lost to the immediacy of emotional appeal & soundbites.

When asked to give the message to our fellowship on 6/29/08 this was the most pressing topic on my heart. You can listen to the message here.

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Well, the task of posting news or pictures to our site has been ignored for several months. Not because it serves no purpose (I hope), but rather because of all the unexpected turns life has taken since November 2007.

It’s probably not worth documenting in detail, but we at least owe a brief explanation. It was at the end of November that we were sure the business opportunity I was pursuing in the Rochester, MN market was not a good fit for our family. It took a bit of wind out of our sails to abandon that path, but the Lord is true to His ways and soon revealed a better opportunity that allows us to not only stay in the Winona area, but build a business centered here while still serving a broader area of MN and WI. We are so thankful that this opportunity came along, and are continually amazed at how it is so much of a better fit for what I am called to do. See the newly launched ChrisRengert.com to learn more!

Then, just after getting going in that endeavor we found out we still owned the house we thought was sold last summer. Due to some very unfortunate circumstances the buyer was unable to obtain the planned financing & had to default on the purchase. That turn of events got us to thinking strategically about the new business & where we intend to be in the next several years. Instead of putting the house back on the market or renting it, we felt that it would be financially prudent to move back into it…and stay put for a while! It also serves the business plan with a nice office to which clients are welcomed.

There’s plenty more news to come, but for now we are settling in once again in Gilmore Valley and quite busy with all that entails. We really enjoyed the two years we spent on the farm, are thankful for it and miss several things about it, but are blessed and very happy to be making this our home again.

So often lost in our culture’s current dialog is the real reason for Thanksgiving. Let’s not forsake our roots, our true source of freedom.

Founders Give Thanks

Following the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress recognized the need to give thanks for delivering the country from war and into independence. Congress issued a proclamation on October 11, 1782:

By the United States in Congress assembled.

PROCLAMATION.

IT being the indispensable duty of all Nations, not only to offer up their supplications to ALMIGHTY GOD, the giver of all good, for his gracious assistance in a time of distress, but also in a solemn and public manner to give him praise for his goodness in general, and especially for great and signal interpositions of his providence in their behalf: Therefore the United States in Congress assembled, taking into their consideration the many instances of divine goodness to these States, in the course of the important conflict in which they have been so long engaged; the present happy and promising state of public affairs; and the events of the war, in the course of the year now drawing to a close; particularly the harmony of the public Councils, which is so necessary to the success of the public cause; the perfect union and good understanding which has hitherto subsisted between them and their Allies, notwithstanding the artful and unwearied attempts of the common enemy to divide them; the success of the arms of the United States, and those of their Allies, and the acknowledgment of their independence by another European power, whose friendship and commerce must be of great and lasting advantage to these States:—– Do hereby recommend to the inhabitants of these States in general, to observe, and request the several States to interpose their authority in appointing and commanding the observation of THURSDAY the twenty-eight day of NOVEMBER next, as a day of solemn THANKSGIVING to GOD for all his mercies: and they do further recommend to all ranks, to testify to their gratitude to GOD for his goodness, by a cheerful obedience of his laws, and by promoting, each in his station, and by his influence, the practice of true and undefiled religion, which is the great foundation of public prosperity and national happiness.

Done in Congress, at Philadelphia, the eleveth day of October, in the year of our LORD one thousand seven hundred and eighty-two, and of our Sovereignty and Independence, the seventh.

JOHN HANSON, President.

Charles Thomson, Secretary.

Ben Stein’s recent post on Yahoo Finance hits the mark…IMHO!

Yes, America’s oil companies, besieged by foreign dictators, attacked endlessly in the media, mocked and belittled in the academic world, are vital to the survival of this country. Just try to imagine America without oil — we’d be embroiled in “Mad Max”-style chaos within a week. We would be living in complete anarchy.

Instead, we have a rich, advanced nation where the whole society and its progress float on liberally supplied, bargain-priced petroleum. And, like surly teenagers who hate their parents because they’re totally dependent on them, we respond by hating the oil companies.

This is a sure way to commit national suicide. The oil companies aren’t run by rich conspirators out of some Oliver Stone movie. They’re not monopolists illegally fixing prices the way Rockefeller did more than a century ago. They’re owned by people like us, employing people like us, saving the rear ends of people like us.

I think it’s summed up best in the next paragraph:

If they’re making a legal product that we can’t live without in a legal way and selling it at a legal price, let’s lay the heck off of them and let them do their jobs. If you think the oil companies make too much money for their stockholders, then buy their stock for your retirement.

Saturday night through Sunday morning August 18th & 19th, our area of SE MN suffered a significant disaster. We measured over 12-inches of rain here on the farm in Witoka! This picture of the road washed out is just down the hill from us.

Here’s a video report of the scene from wcco.com. This clip has Grandma Aldinger being interviewed about the neighbor couple that died driving into the chasm Sunday morning.

This video report has Grandpa Aldinger.

We are very thankful to be safe up here on the top of the ridge. Many of the valley areas around us have been devastated.

wcco.com has posted a slideshow of damage in the surrounding area.

Go to this page for the gallery/slideshow.

A visit from Grandpa Rengert is becoming one of our summer rites, as he likes to stop in for a few days before hitting the Oshkosh air show. This year he brought Uncle Ron with him too, and we had a great visit. For the last two years, Papa and the boys have also met Grandpa Rengert in Brodhead, WI for the antique fly-in in September.

One of the things that always makes me smile in wonderment is when I hear Allan (Coleen’s dad) or Roger (Coleen’s brother) encounter something in the day-to-day operation of the farm & say:

“I’ve never seen that before!”

Well neither of them have ever seen the corn grow this high. I guess we got enough rain at just the right stages - Praise the Lord! As I’ve driven through the area I have seen a lot of stressed and even brown withered corn, so clearly the results are more localized than regional. There is pretty heavy soil up here, which tends to retain the moisture pretty well. About the time of this picture the corn was measured at 11 feet, 8 inches. Wow!

While the rest of the family was off helping Shari, Jim & Luke move into their new house, Coleen was called into action when a cow suddenly went into labor.

I think it was June 22nd, and Coleen had gone out to the barn to feed the cats & she noticed that one of the heifers in the holding area was beginning to birth its first calf. The concern was that the heifer was not in the maternity pen, where there’s plenty of room and bedding, but in the stall area where the calf could easily get stepped on by the mother or another cow. The calf was just beginning to emerge when Coleen arrived, so she rushed over to the house to notify Brandon (who was watching Luke and Anna) of the event.  When she was half-way across the driveway and heard a thunderous GROAN, she arrived to find the calf laying in the sand of the stall.

It seemed like the mother and other cows in the holding area were agitated, and Coleen was concerned for the safety of the heifer calf. Chris called her back from his cell phone when he noticed the missed call, and recommended that perhaps she could pull the calf to the other side of the gate, where it could not get stepped on but the mother could still lick it dry. She did, and that worked for a bit…until the calf started trying to stand, and the mother became even more agitated.

After wrestling with a sofa-sleeper for a bit, Chris and Roger paused to plan their next strategy for relocating it from outside to in, and gave Coleen a call to check on the status. We all agreed that if the calf wasn’t staying within reach of the mother to be licked dry, it should be put in the calf pen. Coleen took care of that and continued to keep an eye on things until the moving crew was back for afternoon milking. Coleen got naming rights to the calf & dubbed her Sandy!

Happy Independence Day everyone! I heard this for the first time this year:

As a schoolboy, one of Red Skelton’s teachers explained the words and meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance to his class. Skelton later wrote down, and eventually recorded, his recollection of this lecture. It is followed by an observation of his own.
From The Red Skelton Hour, CBS TV, January 14, 1969

Pledge of Allegiance, performed by Red Skelton

I’ve been amazed at the hubbub surrounding the opening of the Creation Museum. The coverage has mostly been along the lines of “how could they?” I’m wondering how all the the other “natural” museums couldn’t.

Russell D. Moore writes of his visit:

“Frankly, even if I were a Darwinist, I would think I would have no more reason to be angered by this exhibit than by a New Age museum arguing for the Gaia hypothesis of earth as a living organism or by an Eastern religion’s museum arguing for a universe with no beginning and no end.

Speaking of Darwinism, it was everywhere, and fairly presented. In virtually every exhibit, on the “Lucy” fossil or on carbon-14 dating or on the fossil record or on the Big Bang, the information included both the Darwinist-materialist explanation for the scientific data along with how the same data are interpreted by the museum’s biblical creationist grid.”

It wasn’t that long ago that the Creation model of origins was assumed correct while the “outlandish” claims of evolution just begged for a fair hearing. Not so now is it? Why is that? Why is it not intriguing and entertaining to discuss and debate both sides of an issue?

There is another side, but when is the last time you’ve encountered a balanced presentation on global warming/whining, peak oil, creation/evolution, free market/redistribution, etc.? Individuals should seek to become informed enough to reason their own conclusions from the facts and arguments presented by both sides. Christians are often accused of wanting to impose our views on society, but the secular-humanist culture that seemingly advocates “open-mindedness” is demanding with ferocious, religious zeal that debate is over…on issue after issue.

Put another way by Tom Bethell in his article Don’t Fear the Designer:

“To believe that the feeble tautology of natural selection — laissez-faire political economy from the 1830s imported into biology — constitutes a sufficient explanation of the marvels of nature is to display a credulity that makes our fundamentalists seem sagacious by comparison.”

I submit that we do society no favors by declaring opinion as fact. That is not science, nor the least bit scientific. The process of education - debate - persuasion - reason - conclusion has been replaced with indoctrination. Replaced by whom? If education has been replaced by indoctrination, do we not look to our educational institutions as a likely source? It is not education to declare opinions as facts. To do so with the purpose of changing an institution or cause, or to do damage to an opposing cause, is propaganda, is it not? Can it be denied that academia and media are filled to the brim with participants primarily motivated by the will to “change things”? In the information age, is it not possible that these institutions (academia and media) are dooming themselves to irrelevance by not embracing their purpose to fairly inform?

The world is supposed to be full of other people with other opinions. If you must demand yours is not subject to debate, then I would conclude you either don’t have the supporting evidence to persuade others, or you condescendingly don’t think it’s worth your time. Neither is constructive.