bierkergaard

Yesterday, both of the other counselors were out in the morning. I had to cover the counseling bases until they returned. A student came down from class...she was not one of mine (last name A-G is me). I listened to her sad story which cannot tell. But, it was sorrowful. She cried and it made me write this in my journal a few moments ago: Tears fall like heavy bombs onto my soul Blasting and burning a deep hole Her tears were hard and heavy, from years of estrangement. God has an infinite bottle for the tears we cry.

Always have liked Beautiful Day from U2. U2, about the only band still making good music from the time of college until now. Relics... guess the relic charge goes both ways. Yesterday to celebrate my 47th birthday (my tagline..."no mid-life crisis here, my whole life has been a crisis"), Lina I paid a visit to my alma mater Millersville University. It was deserted because the students were on Fall Break. Hey, we never got a Fall Break. We first went to the George Street Cafe to chill and for me to work on my book. Keeping to my coffee restriction plan, I ordered a ginger soda. It was hard to not get a cup of Joe regular. It just don't seem right to drink a soda in a coffee shop. Then, we walked down to Jack's and had a couple of Sam Adams Oktoberfest beers. Normally, I am not a huge Sam Adams fan because of excessive hops, but the two beers I had were stellar. Then, the purpose for our journey. A stop at the Sugar Bowl for my every three or so month Stromboli lub...

Glenn Beck and his sidekick in this video defend the action of the fire department that refused to fight a fire because the homeowner had not paid an annual $ 75 fee. What makes the video particularly chilling is a portrait of Ben Franklin with the word "CHARITY" printed on the poster in Beck's radio studio. I mean, it is almost like a SNL spoof it is so awfully ironic. Ben Franklin was the first to start an all-volunteer fire department and that is what makes this debate so historically hot. Can the public good survive and an era of me first? Beck should have a portrait of himself in his studio with the title AVARICE . Also ironic that Beck is losing his eyesight. Maybe his eyes are starting to burn from fumes of his idealogical indignation. Charity, to be charity, is the doing of good to others without renumeration. That is why it is called Charity after all. It is a Christian virtue. I am certain that firefighting should not be a charity issue to start with. There is...

Seriously, some of the most comments I receive on my blog posts are either about grass or groundhogs. Both topics make me go Grrrrrr alright. So, we had a drought. The grass out front died and faded to brown. We have had a ton o' rain and most of the grass is dead still. While all of the yard that is not within sight from the street is a lush verdant green, anything visible is dead as Lenin. It is like a dude who has hair all over his body--and copious amounts at that--on back, neck, arms, and belly, but his head is a cue ball. Ironies, painful ironies. The grass withers and the flower fades but the Word of God stands forever.

I really like Pennsylvania weather. Just when I can't take the summer heat anymore, it turns cooler. Leaves change, burning leaves smoke aroma fills the air, and nights come sooner. I know it is illegal to burn leaves around here but I am always glad for a few "scofflaws of smoke" who flavor the air. Burn on... God knows the human heart longs for things it does not have, or once had and lost, and does not appreciate the things it does have. The seasons remind us what has been, what is, and what will come. And, in so doing, we remember and reckon ourselves blessed.

I am convinced that the primary reason why the Church struggles with evangelism is not because we don't care about people...it is just that we don't know how to care about people in practical ways that make a real difference. We are so theologized and sermonized that we have taken leave of our senses and forgotten what it takes to be human in the best way imaginable. Caring for others is not hard intellectually and strategically yet it is costly and at times can be quite inconvenient. Most of the time, it really isn't even that hard, though. Listen, love, learn from another. Lend a hand. Share a loaf. Really, come on...this does not take a Ph.D in the Bible. Knowing the right answer can be a serious deficit spiritually if we do not do the right answer. Who is worse...the Pagan who does not know the Word and acts like He does not know it OR the religious type who does know the Word but does not do it? This is not a rhetorical question. It is quite serious. Last night o...

What happens when one buys beer bottles (returnables) from a beer distributor of a brewery that closed down in the 1980's? Ummm....scum. Not sure where these bad boys were stored but it must have been someplace dark and dank. Can't complain too much, they are fine bottles for the homebrewing of Belgian Beer. 16 ouncers of thick brown glass for less than 25 cents a bottle. Yet, I spent a whole lot of the day yesterday doing my best to move the bottles out of the liquid Legionnaire's Disease Zone. I did lose a plastic hose in one of the bottles as I was filling it and could not find it despite opening the whole row of suspects. Not sure how I managed that one...my incompetence sometime mystifies even me... In the end, only three bottles remain that were still scuzzy and cruddy that I might just toss. The whole experience reminded me of when Jesus told his listeners, many of them hostile, to wash not only the outside of the jar but also the inside. We might look good ceremonia...