There is also a big difference between regulating what becomes legal and regulating personal behavior.  When the county makes something legal, its proponents will say – that makes it ok.  I want to make sure that the law approves as few harmful practices as possible.

             We are going through a stage right now in our culture where legislators don’t want to raise taxes but they need more money. An easy way to do this is through allowing and taxing gambling.  We have had widespread gambling in the past.  Ride out Devine Street and Garner’s Ferry Road and you’ll see near the Lutheran Church of the Incarnation an historical marker indicating there was a horse track where the children’s home now stands.  Further out by the VA Hospital there was another one.  That one belonged to Wade Hampton.  So we have had organized gambling in this state in the past.  We don’t have it now because back then we discovered that while it looks like fun, it’s actually quite harmful.  The human cost exceeds the human value. Right now it’s back on the upswing, and it will take awhile before we see the error of our ways and again restrict it.  However, I think it is important to take a stand and raise the issue wherever it makes sense.  The human cost is still too high.

            The other day I was very near one of the feeders when I heard a hummingbird come in, hover, and, when I turned to look at her, fly away.  This happened again in just a matter of seconds, so when she left the second time, I turned around and got two feet from the feeder.  Sure enough, she returned, came to the feeder, ate, looked up at me, rose up and levitated about two feet from my face, then returned to the feeder.  This went on for a couple of minutes.  What an audaciously brave little bird.

            Don’t you think the Kingdom of God is a little like that – audaciously bold?  We live in an arrogant, prideful world that rejects our message of sin and salvation.  Yet, we are called to face it and even reach out to it so that through the grace of God it could be saved.  Will we run or will we follow our calling with the courage of faith?  How about you?

Reading is such a great sport.  It started for me at age five with comic books.  One day I realized I knew what some of the words inside the cartoon characters’ speech bubbles were.  I hope you love to read.  It is surely the best way to connect to the best minds from whom you are separated by space, time, or both.

            On vacation I read Jeff Shaara’s story of World War II titled The Rising Tide.  This very factual, historical novel tells of the early events of World War II and the North African and Sicilian campaigns led by Dwight D. Eisenhower.  It describes the war from the standpoint of both Erwin Rommel (The Desert Fox) and his fellow German generals and Dwight Eisenhower and his fellow generals.

            Of particular interest was the representation of General George Patton and General Omar Bradley, two completely different men with fascinating personalities.  Patton never achieved as high a rank as most people believe he could have because his personality, while fascinating, also barred him from going any higher than he did.  (It is interesting that the highest rank to which he ever aspired was that of three-star general.  That was his dream from the beginning of West Point, and that is as far as he ever went.)  Omar Bradley, on the other hand, was remarkably resolute and strong and simultaneously incredibly modest.  This man was able to rise to the rank of four-star general, one of only four that ever served in the army.  This book is certainly well worth your time.

            Read any good books lately?  Tell me about them.

Fly tying jumped on me from a Field and Stream article.  Before long I had learned to wrap fur, feathers, and other materials around a hook and could catch fish with the result.  My dad could work on a piece of furniture for months.  He loved the precision.  I preferred jobs I could finish in moments.  It’s been a personality trait of mine for life. I don’t know whether I can do anything about it or not. I don’t think it really matters whether I prefer five-minute or five-week projects.  Here’s a little thing I like to do when I come to church.  Sunday mornings I pull up to my office outside the door, drop Patty and our stuff off, then drive down to the back of the parking lot.  I want guests and seniors to be able to park closer to the building.  Brandon Petersen and I park at about the same spot and most Sundays walk in together.  Like I said, it’s a small thing but satisfying, and maybe it’s helpful to someone who needs a closer parking space.