February 20 – “Word Day”

This week I had one of those "change the message at the last minute" experiences.  At least it happened on Friday so I had a few days to get into it.  The result was "Welcome to Word Day" at Seaside today.  I told the people that today they wouldn't hear what I think the Bible means.  They wouldn't hear a collection of interpretations from scholars down through history.  Instead I let the Word of God speak for itself.  There were several chances to respond – in prayer, or in singing, or in repenting, or in reconciliation or for taking some simple action as an expression of our faith in Jesus.    I shared the location of each passage so they could jot it down and look it up later to get the whole context.  Some of them tried to keep up with me, though, and look the verses up as we went along.  It was an unusual and humbling experience for me.  Massive amounts of Scripture always are humbling.  I'm sure it taxed some of the more traditional folks that were there, though.  But all of the feedback I received was good.  Guess I'll list the verses again in my website article.   Mom has really been a handful the last few days.  The doctor said the only thing that was showing up was a urinary tract infection, but her dementia seemed to escalate dramatically.  She was obviously in some pain and felt like something was wrong, but she wasn't able to verbalize it very well.  She said sometimes her knees feel like they are going to buckle.  Other times she feels like she can't hold her head up.  But then at other times she seems fine.  April heard in a nursing class that urinary tract infections often trigger dementia signs in elderly patients.  Sure sounds like what's happening.  But what do I know?  We are trying to keep her focused on the basic stuff.  Keep your head up and eyes open when you walk.  Use your words when you speak and call someone by name if you want to get their attention.  Chris may take her back to the doctor again tomorrow to see if there is something else we should be doing, or if we just have to wait for the antibiotic to take care of the problem.   Psalms 146:5-10 says, "Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them — the Lord, who remains faithful forever.  He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.  The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.  The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.  The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations."   Father, take care of Mom.  Give her assurance that we care and so do you, if that's what she needs.  Amen.