The Cardinals have been having a rough time clinching the division lately. After a hot August, things have cooled off for them in September. Hopefully they will heat back up in October. While we wait, here’s the classic from Abbott and Costello.
I’m beginning to migrate my blogs back to WordPress. I’ll be able to save a bit of money for myself and the church. In these times, it’s something you have to do. I hope to be a bit more active on this blog. I have been posting elsewhere, but not as much as I’d like there either. Right now you may be pointing to www.etzlerhousehold.net. If so, you may want to point your readers to blog.etzlerhousehold.net. I’ll probably be switching things over to something else in the not-so-distant future.
Peace,
Andy
Recently my mother was diagnosed with ALS, more familiarly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Her form seems to be rather aggressive. She’s gone from no symptoms in September to needing a walker and wheelchair presently. So please keep my family (especially my mother and father) in your prayers in the months to come.
The reason I bring this up is that lately she’s been sharing with us some of the entries from her journals that she has been keeping over the years. This was something I was unaware that she has done and has been a pleasant trip down memory lane. The good, the bad and the ugly.
Growing up, my dad (the eternal pessimist) always said, “You need to plan for the worst, so when things work out right, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.” You see, he is a retired structural engineer. His job was always to plan for the worst case scenario.
Take, for example, this from my mom’s memories:
Monday February 25, 1974
First day of sectional tourney today and “Kid Day” at school – show school spirit and dress like a kid…At supper table Bob said “Hope you win tonight” Me – “What a time to change tactics”. Denise – “Yeah, it makes me nervous.” Bob – “Well I don’t expect you to win, just hope you do.” They felt better. They did win the game 70 – 65 over Wayne.
It’s quite ironic that a few years ago he was voted the “Optimist of the Year” from the Optimist Club that they belong to. Though in this regard I tend to take after my mom, his outlook has been quite beneficial from time to time.
My mother, on the other hand, is the epitome of the eternal optimist. One thing theme that has run throughout her memories is how much she has been blessed by the Lord. No matter what the situation (again, the good, the bad, and the ugly), she sees the hand of God working through the situation to ultimately benefit our family. She truly believed in Romans 8:28 (ESV) “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” It’s an outlook that I have not had at times.
Looking back through her memories, I can indeed see how God’s hand has moved through the history of my family, how He has guided, protected, and kept us all in His hands. Maybe it’s time that I start up a journal. Looking back, I know that I too will see God’s hand at work in our lives.
I started a new blog for our congregation. The desire is that it will become a place for my members and others to go for information, to ask questions and find answers. I may cross post from time to time. But if you’re interested, stop by and give it a gander. Make some suggestions. Ask questions. We’ll see if it takes off at all.
Oh, by the way, it’s called The Shepherd’s Staff and is located at www.shlcfayettemo.com. See you there!
I haven't posted on this blog very often. With everything that's been going on, I've opted to spend more time with the other things in life. But now things are beginning to slow down, so I'll try and post a bit more often.
So what's been going on? Well, not much, and quite a bit. The kids are all continue to shoot up. Josh is approaching 6', but still is barely over 120 lbs. He just finished his third year in cross country lettering for the third time as well. When you watch him running, it seems that he's so much smaller than those he competes against. His track coach still has high hopes for him saying that Josh won't really be grown into his body until he's in college. I'm quite proud of the way he fights through the wind and the hills and his continued improvement. Now he's starting basketball and hopes to get some play time on varsity this year.
Rachel seems to be topping off at 5'8". She just finished softball with the second highest batting average on the team (she got beat out by 0.003 for first). She has improved greatly over her previous year and is doing quite well. This year you can tell that she is much stronger, especially after her back surgery almost two years ago now. She has also started basketball which continues to be her favorite sport.
Zach just finished his first year of middle school football. He was the quarterback and did quite well. The varsity coach was quite impressed with his arm and how he handles himself under pressure. Carolyn doesn't handle herself quite as well when he's under pressure, but his team was fun to watch this year. They ended up 4-2 for the season with one of the defeats going to a team who's seventh grade is bigger than Zach's whole school. Zach has also begun basketball practice. There's 23 or so kids who went out for the team this year and Zach will be part of the team that goes to all the games.
Becca is now taller than Zach (much to his chagrin). She played some softball this summer and has also started playing basketball. (Can you tell that we'll be running all over the place again this winter?) She's looking forward to being able to play sports for the school next year where she wants to play volleyball as well as basketball.
Carolyn and I continue with our current employment. She's been at ABC Labs in Columbia for a bit over a year now. She's been quite busy, putting in quite a few hours making deadlines, but she enjoys the work and the people she's associate with. I've been with Central Technology Services for over a year as well and continue to enjoy my work as well. I'm also still pastoring the good people at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Fayette, Missouri part time.
Well, that's what's been going on. As you can see, we're usually quite busy, but that keeps us out of most trouble. 
This morning, before I headed out to prepare for the church, I was looking around at various blogs. One thing that I noticed on the side of several of the blogs was an advertisement for the Wittenberg Trail. I can’t tell you a whole lot about it at this point, but I’m running into names that I haven’t seen a quite a while. The first comment I received on my Home Page was from Ste Emily. I fondly remember “conversations” I had with her when I was a young, um, er, new pastor. I learned much from her and have missed the conversations we have had. I’m looking forward to touching base with many old friends.
It seems that something is afoot at the Synod once again. If you go here you can view a financial report from KFUO for both the AM and FM bands. It looks like someone has been cooking the books to justify the removal of Issues, Etc.
UPDATE: I wrote this last night, but had Internet problems.
Today has been a pretty good day, as far as Saturdays go around here. I was able to sleep in (woke up around 7:45) and took Zachary to breakfast at Bob Evans. Once a month I take one of the kids out for breakfast for a little one-on-one. We had a nice chat and he caught me up on all the things that are going on with his friends, teachers, school and the like.
This afternoon, Josh and I went to the Missouri vs. Kansas State game. It was going to be an ugly game. Two of our starters are (probably) out for the season. One for getting his face broken in a fight earlier this week (literally…He’s gone for four to six weeks). The other was arrested last night (I don’t know for what). The first half was what we were expecting. Mizzou had moments when they would get within a couple, but by halftime, they were down double digits. Then they started a comeback. Slow at first, but good solid defense won the day, and they ended up winning in the final seconds of the game.
After that I came home and decided to get started on the taxes. I don’t know if it happens to you, but as soon as I load up the program, everyone needs something right now. It can’t possibly wait until tomorrow. You see, I get a bit edgy when I’m working on finances and the like. I start to get short with the kids and with Carolyn. What has been a good day quickly took a turn for the worse.
We’ve been studying confession and absolution in Bible study lately. It’s a topic that everyone “knows all about,” but yet seem to never want to take advantage of. “I can go straight to God for forgiveness.” “It’s between me and God.” I’ve said it myself before, and know how hard it can be to confess my sins out loud.
Tomorrow we’ll hear the words of absolution from the pastor, as from God Himself. We’ll here the proclamation of the Gospel in the sermon. We’ll receive the very body and blood of Christ, given and shed for the forgiveness of our sins. These are all ways that we hear, feel and taste the love of God for us. But I also need to hear that forgiveness directed individually to me. Just as I need to hear Carolyn tell me that she loves me, I need to hear it from God Himself through His pastor.
I think I’ll give my CC a call. It’s been far too long.
