Daily Grit by Wes Thorp

LINK: I need to check out St. Petersburg Times' PolitiFact.com

Heading to the showers, but want to share and I will check out later a political fact checker from the St. Petersburg Times, PolitiFact.Com.

How much praise do I have on my heart this morning?

It's almost shower time and then off to the worship service at Christ The King in DeWitt. I'm trying to prepare my heart so I do more than go through the motions of singing, praying and listening.

My attention was poked by today's devotion from Our Daily Bread that draws attention to all the life situations that can suck the hope out of you.

The answer comes from King David's Psalm 103. He's a guy who has gone from having it all to losing it. He did great things and he made decisions that had terrible consequences.

How did he handle it? In Psalm 103, he says in the first half of the 14 verses from the Message version of the Bible:

1-2 O my soul, bless God. From head to toe, I'll bless his holy name!
O my soul, bless God,
don't forget a single blessing!
3-5 He forgives your sins—every one.
He heals your diseases—every one.
He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
He renews your youth—you're always young in his presence.
6-18 God makes everything come out right;
he puts victims back on their feet.

I pray that my heart gets the message from this Psalm. I need to praise God this morning and I need to understand why I'm doing it. Psalm 103 lists a lot of reasons.

Does your teenager think he or she will die young?

That seems to be the question after the results of a new study were published showing that nearly 15% of teens thought they would die young, according to a story in the Detroit Free Press.

Study authors say that contradicts the notion that teens engage in risky behavior because they feel invulnerability because of their age. They actually feel fatalistic.

Lots of teens don't see hope for the future. Can that be affected by family? The church? Lack of a father in the family?

AN INVITATION: Pastor David Maier of Our Savior Lutheran Church, Lansing (MI) blogs and Twitters

Pastor David Maier of Our Savior Lutheran Church on the southwest edge of the Lansing (MI) area blogs and Twitters.  He's trying to use these two social media tools to supplement is face-to-face interaction with his parish and to add extended church family through the web.

His church and it's day school are situated in the heart of mid-Michigan, an area that's struggling to repurpose and re-vision itself with its faltering economy.  He knows personally the storms that come in life as a lymphoma survivor and as a dad of a teenage son who had brain cancer. 

As a babyboomer who was not weaned on a computer, he's trying to thread his way through the challenges of using social media as a way to share his obsession for the hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

You are invited to visit him on the web.  His Twitter address:  bigskymaverick and his blog is Fighting Forward.

 

What it's like to meet God in mid-Michigan or any other place?

Have you tried to imagine what it would be like to go into the visual presence of God?

This morning during my quiet time, I read the devotion from Our Daily Bread based on Isaiah 6:1-8 where the prophet goes into the throne room of the Almighty God.

Can you imagine what that was like? What he saw? Then there's the question that God asked Isaiah. Is he asking me the same question today?

The question:

“Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

Will I have the same answer as Isaiah and mean it?

Some pics from our tour of Lelanau Peninsula (MI) wineries

I will have more to share about our weekend tour of five wineries in Michigan's Leelanau Peninsula.  In the meantime, as I gather my notes and my thoughts, here are some random pics from the trip:

Averill Woods News: Shots fired near our neighborhood

Just to keep Averill Woods neighbors informed, here's the story from the Lansing State Journal this morning about apparent shots fired at Waverly Shopping Plaza in the 3200 block of Waverly.

#7-Lansing Police Department will enforce zero tolerance at Averill School

I left the Averill Woods Neighborhood Association meeting last night feeling good about the way my neighbors and city officials came together after a shooting at Averill School last Sunday.

We left with assurances from the meeting attended by more than 30 people that the Lansing Police Department will enforce "zero tolerance" laws on illegals actions committed at the Averill Woods playground.  This includes individuals, both minors and adults, who are found on school property after 10 p.m. at night.

Council-member A'Lynne Robinson at the direction of her neighbors who are also her constituents released a media advisory declaring the emphasis on the "zero tolerance" policy.  She said:

" The Averill Woods Neighborhood Association held their monthly  neighborhood meeting last night at Averill School.   This very active community group is taking a stand against the negative forces that are attempting to encroach upon their family oriented, children friendly neighborhood.

"The association has asked LPD to enforce the ZERO Tolerance/School ZONE area around the school.  

"They are working to increase the lighting on the basketball court. They also stressed the fact that fines for crimes are doubled in school zones.

"They will also be working with the prosecutor and city attorney's office  to develop and submit a neighborhood impact statement."

As actions develop, I will try to report them in this blog.

#6-School board member Ken Jones reacts to Averill School shooting

Here's the sixth Flip video segment of last night's Averill Woods Neighborhood Association meeting where last Sunday's shooting at Averill School was discussed. 

In this portion, Lansing School Board member Ken Jones provided his provided background to what has been done and what to expect in the future.

You are invited to leave your comments about the video on this blog post.

#5-Council-member Carol Wood reacts to Averill School shooting

Here's the fifth Flip video segment of last night's Averill Woods Neighborhood Association meeting where last Sunday's shooting at Averill School was discussed. 

In this portion, At-large Council-member Carol Wood provided her insights and leadership on how to deal with the school yard being used for mischief and trouble.  Especially valuable was her leadership in helping to develop a plan to reinforce the schools position as a zero tolerance zone for illegal behaviors.  She also helped gain a commitment from the LPD to enforce that designation.

You are invited to leave your comments about the video on this blog post.