Christmas Message to My Kids: Keeping it Simple

    John  3:16 "For God So loved the world,  He gave His only begotten Son."

     Some times in my life I havent' been able to give much.  And some times I go overboard.  Balance?  Me?  It used to be a struggle for me at Christmas time.  How much should i give this one or that one.  What does this person or that person need?  Sometimes my Christmas giving has been stymied by feelings of guilt or by feelings of trying to prove I was better than I was or competing with another parent or grandparent wanting you all to think that I was something other than I really am.    

     Sometimes I wish I could wrap things up and make things look like they belong on the floor room showcase at Macy's in the mall.   I wanted things to be perfect and even paid for people to help me out in that department sometimes.   I did these things because I wanted your growing up to at least have Christmas be O.K. and somewhat "normal".  The devil, tries to tell us that you need this or that in your life to be alright.  The deceiver, wants us to think that in order to be a respectable human you better chase it, pursue it, because if you don't you can't be loved.  I one time had a thought that I should cancel the big day all together because couldn't possibly live up to the grandiose idea of what my intentions were for you guys.  Sometimes I just got drunk. 

   In the book of Matthew 7:12  Jesus charges his disciples to go to every town and not bring any stuff with them to spread the message of love.  He asks them to bring themselves, that they are all the equipment they need.    God has a plan and a design for each and everyone of us.   He gave us Jesus to rescue us from our sins and give us everlasting life, and  we can catch a glimpse of it day by day.  He loves us that much.  

      The enemy wants us to look at our family dynamics and tell us, things are screwed up,  we aren't as good as other Christians.  Maybe we have heard others in meanness utter those words to our ears.  Maybe because of our own selfish sinful ways we expect too much from each other and live in a spirit of envy and want, and jealousy.  After all we all want something we see on t.v. or the internet or maybe even on someones feet.    No one is perfect.   My life has been a living testimony of that.   

      Here is the good news.  Things are different for me today and still not perfect.  I was wrapping a few gifts tonight to get ready for our big day.  I was thinking about my Christmases past and present, even ones when I was a kid, and memories of you guys.   I was flooded with a feeling of peace and happiness and joy. God put His great Christmas gift to us all in one package.  In a week or so we will all get together to celebrate our Christmas.  God's message is simple. He chose.  He chose us.  He loves.  He loves us. He gives.  He gives to us. Unconditionally!   He chose to give His Love to us.  He wants us to try love. Just as he chose to give through His love for us; He want us to choose to give love.   Jesus came from a blended family too, and it was perfect and good because it had Love.  I can't wait to have all of you at Penguin Lodge together as a family.  Our family dynamic has changed for each of us and all in different ways. It may not be perfect to the eyes of the world, but it is ours, and I wouldn't trade it for any other. There is single  simple package for everyone waiting for you when you come.  So come and come often.  You are all the equipment we need.

  

     

Domesticati

     To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds. (Ephesians 4:22-23)




      When I studied Shakespeare I specifically remember Professor O'Kelly form the University of North Dakota telling me that the words , "king", "kin", and "kind" were like warning signs that something dreadful was about to happen in one of his plays.   I am nowhere in the league of Shakespeare, but my ego would like to give it a try at warning the reader about, my warning words.   So if you come across my words, or in conversation with me hear , "I had this thought," you can be assured that something is about to happen.
     I had the good fortune one time to spend a couple years trapping fur in northern MN.   It was a good time in my life.  Although physically demanding and forcing me to be mentally tough,  I gained a lot of satisfaction pursuing the man vs. nature thing.   I would spend my days out in sloughs working muskrat huts, and nights up until midnight putting up fur pelts.  I had managed to put a little heat in a shed out back. and the fur began to pile up.  And as Winter progressed it became harder keeping the little shed warm.
     One day I had this thought that if I moved my pelting operation into my kitchen I could save a few cold nights in the skinning shed.   So I did.   It worked out pretty good for awhile.   Then I had this other thought that if I took a few muskrats that were frozen solid and placed them in my shower to thaw out, that maybe I could get a few more done during my skinning session.  So I did.  And that too seemed to work.
    Then one day after taking regular showers in the springtime the drain became clogged, and upon further investigation by someone who tried to unclog it found all sorts of muskrat hair as the culprit to the dilemma of clogged plumbing.   Not a happy day.  And today I am grateful those wild adventures are behind me.
    Lately,  I have spending time in Williston.,  and planning a short honeymoon with my beautiful new bride.  I don't know a whole lot of people.  And the adventurer in me has found a little satisfaction in getting to know a few people.  So yesterday I wandered over to the pawn shop across the street.   Nice guys.   A pail of ice-fishing rods caught my eye and at a bargain price they sold them to me.   Baby will need some ice poles when we take our little adventure to Lake Kabetogema.   So I bought them.   Then I had this thought.  I thought that Lake Sacajawea must have some walleyes in it, and that maybe one day i should want to fish there.  So I drove down to Scenic Sports, the local sports and bait shop.   I picked out some pretty lures,  some new line,  inquired about the rules, asked where to go fishing, you know, all the stuff  guys needs to have and know about fishing in a strange new and wonderful land.
     A hundred bucks later I had this thought,  that If I told my plight to the beautiful Brenda, she would see and understand my strange and wonderful dilemma, that in winter in the northern  tier of the U.S., a guy should probably have a fish shanty, and that the cost of buying one may not be in the budget, but the cost of building may be.   She agreed.
      So this morning,  after doing what I needed to do, I picked up the material to build a humble little ice-fishing shanty.  No big deal.
     Then I had this thought, that maybe I could get building on it today while Brenda was at school.   Then reality hit me and said, "Dude! It's -15!  It's cold outside.  It's too cold to build it in the garage today."  And Reality was right.
     Then I had this thought, that if I cut out all the pieces in the garage and brought them into the house to assemble this fine inspiration, and completed it,  I would have the shanty dilemma solved.   So I pursued the thought into the kitchen.  I noticed that Brenda's floors were real nice and shiny and clean and made out of wood.  They might get scratched.   So I pursued the thought into the living room.  The floors were the same there.  So I pursued the thought down into the basement on the carpet where nothing would get scratched and then realized that it would be hard to get the assembled product up the stairs.   But that didn't stop me.
I bargained, justified, plead with myself,  "Just how Bunky are you going to get this done?"
     Then I had this thought of Brenda coming home to an unfinished or finished ice house inside her house.   I came to realize that it would probably resemble something  to the precise extent of "The Bonny Incident" from the movie Pulp Fiction,.    And that maybe after only 5 days of marital bliss it would abruptly come to an end. And that also I really enjoy peace and tolerance way more than i can bare chaos and turmoil.   And also it being minus 25 over the next couple days i would just be lying to myself and the reader to pretend that I would actually go out fishing out in this weather.
     So as of right now, the material can just sit in the back of my truck for a warmer day.   And I can giggle at the committee in my head that forms these strange wonderful ideas.  Look forward to an evening cuddling up to my beautiful wife and just listening about her days adventures.   And know in my heart that if I can take the next beautiful thought that comes into my mind captive, I might get to do it again tomorrow.

Oilfield Trash? HMMMMM

    James 1:10  But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position because he will pass away like a wild flower.

 I watched her walk down the aisle, escorted kindly by her son, Bob, and Duane, her dad.   Instead of carrying cookies or a pan of hot dish she was carrying a bouquet of pink roses and daisies.  Instead of wearing slacks and a sweater, she wore a knock out white dress, and white stilettos on her feet which no way came close to elevating her stature to the size of her character.  Brenda and I got together in front of God and our families in Fairview, Montana on Saturday and got married.
     The night before I was visiting with 3 of my sons.   They were proud to be in Williston.  They were awed by the traffic and sights.   In many ways it wasn't so much different than the home they are used to, but they sort of came to an understanding of what is happening out here, with the fracking of oil shale, the jobs and the economy it is creating.  My son Dakota proudly and humorously displayed a hoody and sweatpants touting "North Dakota....  Bakken.... Oilfield Trash."
      It was right after many laughs, we went down to the pool for a quick splash.   When I opened the door to the pool, I was instantly greeted buy the sound of Mariachi music, the smell of cumin infused food, and the unmistakable laugh of an old friend.   "Buenos Noches mi amigo," exclaimed the unique familiar voice of no other than Jose Jimenez.  We exchanged a few handshaking formalities.  I offered him pizza and he gave me one of his delicious burritos.   I never did quite understand how or why he was at the hotel, the same as mine.  It was just good to say hi.   Go figure!
    Today, i dropped Brenda off at the school where he works, and I will soon go to pick her up.   I worked on the laundry, some business, and finally got a chance to blog a few thoughts.
     Today I was thinking about the first time I had left for Williston this fall.  I specifically remember the wild daisies by my mail box.  How quiet it was when I left... and when i returned both to Penguin Lodge this Fall and to Penguin Terrace this Winter in my new home.   A lot is happening.  Domestication... Life.  A lot is happening here too out in the patch and on the line...  families are still getting together for celebrations, still going to work,  still worrying about grandmas,  still coming together before God and following Him.
      The daisies in the bouquet may wither, and the ones by the mailbox may be dormant,  but the last I heard Jesus is not on the cross anymore because He is alive and with us.     To others we may be oilfield trash, but to people like me we are all just a bunch of God's children  trying to be in the Bakken.