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“O blessed man, that in the advice of wicked doth not walk; nor stand in sinner’s way; nor sit in chair of scornful folk.” (Psalm 1, Bay Psalm Book, 1640)

Our hurts, our interior pains, our emotional upsets are often in the very depths of our soul. We often plug along carrying bleeding hearts and when honest with ourselves, we know that we may hurt others, throw insult and blame to others, become that which we carry, and find outlets that land on other people.

We may know that the intentions of our lives square with the high bar we hold as our goal. Yet we trip, we fall, we open our mouths to sounds we later regret. The email I received has a few lines that are worth putting on the breakfast table.

“My teacher told me not to worry about spelling because in the future there will be auto-correct and for that I am eternally grapefruit.”

We often live with the tension; what’s inside and what we chuck forth to the outside. We currently honor our veterans and down deep, I think of and pray for the surviving families I may know. As a pastor, I made special efforts to visit or have lunch with a family member who lives with a grieving friend or family member and who cherishes a flag that a Veteran loved and is part of a household. A spouse who says: “I love my country, but I hate war that involves my country.”

Certainly a tension that often may find its way into our gut. The Vets who are living in our community, many active in various organizations, are our friends!

A book authored by the pastor of a church in Leawood, Kansas, Adam Hamilton, is a read that many will find profitable. “Confronting the Controversies,” contains a selection of some of the different and sometimes debatable issues of our times. A hot-button debate in some circles is titled, “The Separation of Church and State.”

Hamilton reminds us of the constitutional face-offs that do create consternation for some people. And often, for some people with bitterness as self-righteous language, seem to forget that God is first mentioned in our Constitution and found in Article Six. The words that hopefully quote our conversations are “no religion’s test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” Is our current political process responding with honesty and fairness in implementing a studied conscience?

A sour heart may spew out falsehoods and hurtful claims; a heart of integrity may declare words of peace.

A word for all of us is a statement recorded in Psalm 17: “Weigh my heart, summon me by night, melt me down; you will find no impurity in me.” I pause, of course, in reading that, but why not make it one of our intentions?

The Oct. 22, 2022 issue of the “Austin Daily Herald,” printed an example of what I regard as kind and thoughtful thinking! In an article, “Celebrating new starts in sports,” Sports Editor Rocky Hulne, shares his splendid thoughts (do you follow his fine reporting of the athletic events in our area?) No one is excluded, age, male or female; none of the schools is excluded. Thank you!

“One of my favorite things to see at a sporting event is a first. Whether it’s an athlete’s first point, first win, or even first competition, there is always a glimmer about them that shows they are balancing a vast amount of nerves with an immense amount of excitement. Sometimes that first moment comes from a five-year-old in a T-ball game and sometimes it comes from a senior in high school, who is finding success for the first time. Either way, there is no look like the smile on a kid’s face who just did something they never thought possible. It is absolutely priceless.”

The Bible and writers of other world religions using various words or language, come back to a basic: “God, Lord, the Divine: grant me a clean heart.” Are you looking for a request in a nut-shell? I think we have it.

The election is now history. Let us live with gratitude for the privilege we have to vote! Music may be a stimulating response to our country that has leaders who will go on with respect, and wrestle on behalf of our country.

A most accomplished musician, composer, director, skilled with instruments and a glowing example of what a human being can be and do is Arthur Rubinstein. A fitting close to today’s remarks:

I am passionately involved in life

I love its change, its color, its movement. To be alive, to be able to

see, to walk, to have houses, music,

paintings —it’s all a miracle.

I have adopted the technique of living

from miracle to miracle. What people

get out of me is an outlook on life which

comes out in my music. (Arthur Rubinstein’s

“Way of Life”)