N.T.Wright talks about Jesus living out the Sermon on the Mount on Good Friday. Let’s take a look…

He shined for all to see…
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. In the same way, let your light shine… 

And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things…

He took the sting of shame…
But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also…

Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him…

He gave the shirt off his back…
And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well…

And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots…

He went the extra mile…
And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles…

 So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull…

He loved His enemies until the end…
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…

And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do…”

Hurricanes, earthquakes, tragic accidents- What is God up to in all of this?

Dear Kaylee,

I told you I went back to visit my mommy two weeks ago. While I was there, I got the chance to look at old pictures that my mommy and daddy collected over the years and I saw a picture of my Grandma Hanson. She was such a wonderful part of my life. She loved me lots just like your grandmas. The most love she ever showed is that she really had an influence on my faith in Jesus. She would read to me from the Bible, tell me Bible stories, and she would pray with me, all from when I was just a little baby like you. Some of my earliest memories of my grandma I connect with Jesus.

Grandma Hanson was quiet and calm and she would never let anything get her upset. Here is one story about this.

You are going to discover that your Grandpa (me) will forget where I put stuff. Always have since I was a little boy. Well, one day, when I was probably about 14 years old or so, Grandma Hanson was nice enough to drive me to the golf course. I used the car keys to open up the trunk of her car, got my golf clubs out, but I had put the keys in the trunk and forgot to grab them when I shut the trunk. In those days there was no switch to open the trunk in the car. So, we were stuck.

At least your great-great grandma was stuck. She said I needed to get going and play golf and she would call my Grandpa Hanson and ask him to come out with spare keys to open the trunk. So that’s what I did. Well, my Grandpa wasn’t the calmest guy in the world, and as I am writing about this now, I realize he must have yelled at Grandma Hanson and probably wasn’t very nice about it.

“For crying out loud, Kap…!!” (Her nickname was, “Kap”)

All I know is that when I was done golfing, Grandma Hanson came back to pick me up and never said a word about the keys.

Kaylee, your mommy has a lot of patience, too. She has 12.5% of Grandma Hanson in her DNA, so that shouldn’t be a surprise. This means you get 6.25% of your great-great grandma, too. Boy, are you lucky! You would have loved your great-great Grandma Hanson. She would have kissed you, hugged you, made you cookies, and never once get angry with you.

I don’t know how she did it, but I think it might have something to do with how much she loved Jesus…

Love,
Grandpa

An overview of humankind and the supernatural from prehistoric times to today.

Dear Kaylee,

Your uncles were home for the weekend to celebrate their birthdays. As you know, they are twins, so one birthday means two cakes! Your other uncle, Matthew was with us, too, and we all went out to the Pumpkin Patch. You were fascinated looking around and seeing all the commotion. There were tons of people, a band playing music, we saw many animals- what a day! We took pictures, of course, but we couldn’t sit you on the hay bale because it bothered your bare feet! The pumpkins were big and small, with many strange shaped gourds, too.

Your uncles especially liked that some of the gourds were really strange shaped, but you will have to wait until you are much older to ask your mommy why your dad, your uncles and grandpa were laughing so hard…

When your mommy picked out your pumpkin it was just the right shape and size. I can’t wait to see what it looks like when it is carved and lit up.

When we left, I just wanted to hold my pumpkin, who is just the right shape and size.

My Kaylee-pumpkin doesn’t need a candle inside, though, because her smile is always lighting up wherever she goes!

Love,

Grandpa