Last week I had lunch with a girlfriend who converted from Hinduism a few weeks ago. In the course of our conversation, I mentioned that if Alan were to die suddenly, it would take me a long time to recover. 
She looked at me wide-eyed, and said,”You speak of death so calmly. Hindus are so afraid to die that they don’t even like to use the word. They avoid thinking about it so much that they often won’t even go to the doctor for a diagnosis or treatment if they think they might have a terminal illness like cancer.” 
I was surprised! Somehow, I imagined it might be reassuring to think that after you die, you’ll be reincarnated into another being that will live again on this earth, but apparently that’s false, because no matter how hard you try, you don’t know if you’ll come back as a person of similar rank. 
You might return instead as someone from a lower caste, or as an animal. 
For those of us who recognize our propensity for failure, the thought of unending cycles of life attempting to attain perfection sounds impossibly difficult, and after visiting the homeland of Hinduism, 
I can only imagine the horror one might feel at the thought of becoming an untouchable or an animal in a difficult environment. 
In contrast, I believe (as the Bible teaches) that God has given each of us a certain (undisclosed) number of days to live on earth, and then we will depart. For all whose spirits have been “born again” through faith in Christ, their spirits will never die: “Jesus said unto her [Martha], I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (John 11:25-26). 
In contrast to Hindus, Christians believe that no matter how old or young we are when we die, our spirits will go immediately into the presence of God: “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). This is the great hope of believers and takes away the terror of physical death! 
Nevertheless, we all face the prospect of death, and even if we’re not afraid of dying, I’m sure none of us relish the prospect of the pain normally associated with the dying process. At least, I do not! Still, we have to face up to the hard realities of life, the hardest of which is probably that life on earth will end. In that vein, Alan recently remembered that years ago an actuary spun our numbers and came up with the statistically probability of Alan’s dying at age 79. The other day, “for fun,” Alan calculated how many days that would be from the date of his considerations, and it came out to about 4,015 days. That makes today approximately 4,000 days from his . . . what shall I call it? Expiration date? Due date? Graduation Day!” 
Ya, let’s think of it as a day to celebrate our passing from this life into the presence of Jesus! If you’re still quite young, you might not have any known statistical probability for how long you’ll live, but let’s say you’ll live to the same age as your oldest favorite relative. How many days do you have left? For me, that might give me 9,490± days. If you’re 20 today, you might have over 25,000 left! Regardless of how many days each of us actually has left (since I could easily die before Alan despite statistical probabilities), Alan and I have been intentionally trying to make every day very special, and it’s really made us more determined than ever to use each day wisely and well!
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)
(All photos taken on our Gate 1 Discovery Tour of “Incredible India and Nepal.”)
Recently, Alan and I had the great privilege of hearing Dr. Francis Collins, who was nominated to become the sixteenth director of the NIH (National Institutes of Health) during the tenure of Barak Obama in 2009 and was unanimously confirmed by the Senate . . . a post he continues to hold even today during Trump’s presidency (which says quite a bit about his character 🙂 ). Also, the fact that the NIH, with its $39 billion annual budget, is the world’s largest health research/applied science program, speaks highly of the trust placed in him!
Dr. Collins is one of the world’s most renowned scientists and has received prestigious recognitions such as election to the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, being the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Science, and being appointed to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences by Pope Benedict XVI. 
Dr. Collins came to Grand Rapids, not in his capacity as Director of the NIH, but to a private event hosted by the President’s Circle of Biologos, an organization he helped birth and guide, which is dedicated to the marriage of faith and science. 
The International Headquarters of Biologos is here in Grand Rapids, and David and Carol Van Andel (whose parents founded the Van Andel Institute for biomedical research in Grand Rapids) are avid supporters and sponsors. 
Dr. Collins’s presentation was fascinating! He started out by sharing his personal career journey from a small farm in the Shanendoah Valley of Virginia (where he was home schooled by non-religious parents) to Yale University for a PhD in chemistry . . . to medical school for an MD degree . . . 
to research at the University of Michigan as “The Gene Hunter,” and eventually to overseeing the Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, which was the group that successfully carried out the Human Genome Project (mapping human genes). 
Interwoven with his career progress was the account of his spiritual progress, from believing in nothing, to being challenged by an elderly patient (who seemed radiantly at peace about death), to grappling with the big question: “Can a scientist also believe in God?” 
After two years of research and wrestling,* Dr. Collins decided that the evidences pointing to the existence of a Creator God were more compelling than the arguments against. As a geneticist, who can miss the beyond brilliant design of DNA? And, what about the stunning improbability of life occurring spontaneously . . . something like 10 to the 500 billionth power?! Did you know there are some 86 billion neurons in the brain? It’s the most complex mechanism in the universe. How could that all happen by chance? And, what about the Big Bang? Doesn’t that argue eloquently for the veracity of the Genesis account—that in the beginning God spoke the universe into existence by the breath of his mouth? Talk about a BIG BANG!! 
In addition to sharing his professional and faith journeys, Dr. Collins gave some fascinating insights into the promises and problems of genetic engineering. 
For example, through gene modification and therapies, they can now save the lives of infants who are born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (a type of ALS that attacks and kills infants in the first months of life). Research is ongoing for a way to save people with Huntington’s Disease. There are genes that can act as “police” to track down and destroy certain types of cancer cells. Wouldn’t that be fantastic? The potential for health benefits is incredible. 
One of the ways in which any of us could get involved is in participating in a study of genes through 
Of course, as with all advances, there are moral dilemmas. For instance, they can now develop a human heart in a pig embryo. This type of genetic modification produces a cross between a human and an animal, known as a chimeras. It could save a lot of human lives, but is it ethical? You can only imagine the implications, including the making of science fiction horror stories. 
Thankfully, Dr. Collins didn’t leave us on that discouraging note. Rather, he called on Christian thinkers, scientists and theologians, to come to the table and help discern the godly path through all the vast possibilities to produce the truest and best results for physical and spiritual health globally. 
And then, for his final note, he picked up his guitar, called Dr. Deborah Haarma (president of Biologos) to assist him at the piano, and led us all in worship, as we sang to our great God, “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” 
Truly, God is faithful, and He alone can lead us into the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake! Our call is simply to follow where he leads.
By the way, Dr. Collins has also written a New York Times’ Best Seller on genetics called The Language of God. If you’re grappling with how to marry science and faith in your life, you might really profit from reading his book.
Do you have a husband? If not, then maybe this command is not for you . . . or maybe it is, because the Samaritan woman to whom Jesus was speaking didn’t really have a husband either. But, she had a significant other in her life, and Jesus was concerned about both of them. In fact, Jesus is concerned about all of us—regardless of gender, marital status, or even present lifestyle. 
The woman at the well was coy. She was practiced at the art of deception, even using the letter of the law to her advantage. When Jesus told her to go call her husband and come back with him, she responded, “I have no husband.”
This was technically true, but it didn’t fool Jesus. He knew the woman wasn’t really free and single, as she might have hoped to appear. She could have competed with almost anybody in Hollywood for number of marriages attempted and failed: “
However, Jesus had a better type of love to offer, but he wasn’t going to offer it to her without demanding that she share the good news with others. Faith isn’t meant for our own healing alone; God always tells us to go and call those closest to us so they can share in the love of Christ with us!
Herein lies the splendor and severity of Jesus’ command! His holy, healing love—better than any earthly love—isn’t meant to be hidden within our hearts and minds. To be genuine, it must be proclaimed to those nearest and dearest to us. Jesus calls to everyone, regardless of their spiritual condition, but he calls us to come into the light, to walk in the light, and to obey his commands. Then, and only then, can we have true fellowship with him, and with one another!
This meant that, in order for the Samaritan woman to find the secret of living water to satisfy her longing soul, she would have to involve her significant other, and together, they would have to come to Jesus. Was she ready to do that?
This is an old recipe I learned years ago from a Southern belle! It’s super simple, inexpensive, and pretty much universally popular with kids. True comfort food!
#2. In a large frying pan, fry together until thoroughly browned:
#2.* Now, here is where I improvised, and you can too! I threw in some really tender leftover beef brisket, a few potatoes, and some leftover horseradish and sour cream sauce. (Obviously, I don’t do this if I’m serving company.) Hungry Jack is great just as is, but it’s also a good dish for adding any leftover beef, gravy, or veggies that you have in your refrigerator. Peas, corn, and peppers are a few veggies that are both delicious and nutritious additives. 
#3. Once everything is heated through, add a gravy made of:
#4. Spread 1 large can pork’n’beans into the bottom of a 9X13″ glass baking dish and heat in the microwave for 3 minutes. 
#5. Add meat mixture over the top of the heated pork’n’beans.
#6. Sprinkle 8 oz. grated cheddar cheese (or your favorite) over the top. 
#7. Cover with one sheet of Pillsbury crescent dough or a package of biscuits pulled in half. I’ve changed the original recipe, which was named (I think) for Hungry Jack biscuits. I first learned the recipe as halving Hungry Jack biscuits and arranging them over the top, but lately Pillsbury has come out with sheets of dough, which work just perfectly and give a beautiful blanket effect over the entire casserole. 
#8. Bake in hot oven at 375°F. for 15 minutes or until golden on top. 
#9. Pull out of the oven and let it rest on a cutting board for 5-10 minutes. 
It should still be piping hot, but the gravy will be slightly thicker, and everything will come out looking especially appealing! 
I served it with hot, mulled cider, a tossed salad, and blackberries (but only because I caught the berries on a good sale; any fresh fruit works well).
Our kitchen was a mess! After thirty years of wear and tear, the blue Formica counter tops were riddled with worn-through white polka dots, the drawers didn’t open properly, nor did the cupboards close properly. Our second-hard refrigerator needed to retire; I was resorting to lighting the stove with a propane lighter . . . you get the picture! 
Thankfully, this happened just about the time the last of our seven kids grew up, allowing our submerged bank account to pop back to the surface and start swimming. 
So, before we retire, we’ve decided to repair and update our home, hoping we can live here for as long as possible before the winter of our lives sets in. 
It took a lot longer than we ever imagined, but it’s now all finished! 
Besides more cupboard space, my chief pleasure is working in a kitchen with colorful granite countertops. 
The countertops are full of swirling colors, predominately blacks and whites 
but also with sparkles of gold and copper 
plus tiny accents in yellows, pinks, and purples.
They remind me of a lush, wild masterpiece by my favorite composer,
The counters are full of movement and surprises, 
and they’re bursting with joy!
Every time I look at the counters, I think about God. 
This is one of His designs! 
What an amazing Creator, who has filled our world with unique treasures buried even deep in the earth! 
Nowhere is there a predictably uniform pattern or straight line. 
Except! 
Ah, don’t you love exceptions? 
In one small corner, there are two parallel purple lines that are totally unlike anything anywhere else. At first I thought they were possibly a stain or something that was drawn on afterward, but they are not. 
They are built out of the same purple grains that are interspersed throughout the slabs. 
Not long after our kitchen update was complete, our daughter-in-law Gerlinde’s parents visited with us. Christoph and Sarah live in Germany, although they spent many years on the mission field in Tanzania. Christoph—before becoming a missionary—studied art history, so he has a deep love both for God and for art! 
Christoph admired the countertops but also immediately spotted the one unusual regularity in the lower right-hand corner of our island slab. 
“Ah!” he responded cheerfully, “This is where God has signed his painting!”
In a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery?”The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.”
Last night there was a very special lunar event! Did you get to see it? January’s full moon is always called the “wolf” moon. (I’ve heard it was so-named by American Indians because that’s when the wolves howled most fiercely outside their villages 😦 ). 
Last night there was also a “super” moon, which means the moon was full while it was at its closest point to the earth in its rotation, making it look especially large and luminous. Every year we get two to five supermoons, and this year there are three: the one last night, one on Feb. 19 (which will be the closest and largest full supermoon of the year), and one on March 21. 
A “blood” moon refers to the color the moon appears to be during a total lunar eclipse. Instead of disappearing altogether, there is still some light that reaches it from the sun, although the rays are refracted in such a way that blue light is filtered out, leaving the sunset glow of red light. A super blood moon is a rare occurrence with gaps between six months and three years. Last night was the only super blood moon in 2019, and there won’t be another one like it visible in North America until May 26, 2021. 
Lunar eclipses occur during a full moon, when the sun and moon are perfectly aligned on opposite sides of the Earth so that the moon falls completely under Earth’s shadow. Last night’s eclipse lasted just 72 minutes, between 11:41 EST (January 20) and 12:53 EST (January 21, the wee hours of this morning). 
The moon appears red only during the eclipse. Once the moon enters Earth’s shadow, it will turn red throughout the full eclipse. 
But, once the moon begins to lose its red hue, you know the full eclipse is over.
My photos of the blood moon and the lunar eclipse were not taken last night, however! They were taken in Italy last July while I was visiting my kids who lived there. Michael and Grace were all excited about the special event, and we were perched in place, watching so we wouldn’t miss this opportunity! We knew the eclipse wouldn’t be visible anywhere in America that night, which made it all the more exotic and unusual!
Last night, Alan and I admired the full moon rising on our way home from visiting with friends, but we were oblivious of the momentous event about to occur just a couple of hours later. When we got home, we watched our son, Joel, out skating in the moonlight and thought about what a beautiful evening it was, but we fell right to sleep without any portend of “things to come!”
I wonder, friend, as you look up at the night sky, do you know some day a blood moon will portend the Lord’s return to Earth? 
Has it ever occurred to you that Jesus only expressed a need for something to drink twice in recorded history, and on neither occasion did he get any water? In the Book of John, we learn that Jesus asked the Samaritan woman for a drink of water, but there’s no record of her giving him any! On the cross, Jesus cried out, “I thirst” but received only a taste of vinegar. Furthermore, Jesus requested permission not to drink once, and that was denied as well: “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39).
Jesus had physical needs just like the rest of us, and on this particular occasion, he was traveling with his disciples from Judea through Samaria up to Galilee, about a 125-mile trip. There were no cars in those days, and they weren’t rich enough for Jerusalem Ferraris (aka donkeys). The distance from Jerusalem to Samaria is about 64 miles, or 22 hours of walking (according to a GPS, probably due to the rugged terrain), so they may have been traveling for two or three days already on a trip to Galilee that would likely take them most of a week. It was noon, and the sun was probably broiling hot. Apparently the disciples stationed Jesus at the well to rest and headed into the nearby village looking for the local McDonald’s. 
As Jesus waited, a Samaritan woman came to draw water. Now, this lady was pretty much the antithesis of Rebekah, the beautiful young virgin described in Genesis 24 who, in response to the weary Eliezer’s request for a drink, proceeded to give him a drink and water his camels also!
Instead of giving the poor man a drink, she responded contentiously, asking who he thought he was to be asking anything from her, since he was obviously a Jew and she was a Samaritan, and Jews were notorious for thinking they were so superior to Samaritans that it would be beneath their dignity to speak to one.
Jesus, ever more interested in meeting the needs of others than in getting his own needs met, pointed out to her that if she understood God’s gift and who he was, she could have asked him for living water, and he could have given her some. Now, that piqued her curiosity. I think she skipped the part about what God’s gift might be, or who Jesus was, but she definitely liked the idea of his giving her some water, although she couldn’t figure out how he was planning to do it, since the well was deep and he didn’t have anything with which to draw out the water. Unless . . . unless he was a magician or something . . .
Jesus wasn’t a magician, but he did have miraculous powers. However, he didn’t use them to produce cold water for them to drink. Rather, he told her about spiritual water that he could give her to quench the thirst of her soul—water that could well up within her like a spring of everlasting life, so that she’d never be thirsty again. She was game: 
Let’s stop the story here until next Sunday, because Jesus’ response is another command. But, as we end, I’d like to share five questions I’ve been pondering:
Winter time is a great time to get together for brunch and prayer, and if you’re going to splurge a little, then it’s also a great time to make pecan rolls!
I suspect culinary die hards would make their dough from scratch, and you can do so if you want to, but I’m very pragmatic, and I’ve found that frozen bread dough works just fine and saves me a couple of hours, so I start by:
#2. Cover bottom of 9X13″ baking dish with a mixture of:
#3. Roll out bread dough to an approximately 6X15″ rectangle
#4. Crush 6 oz pecans with a rolling pin (while they’re still in their bag), 
then spread them lightly over the bread dough. 
Use the remaining crushed pecans to fill in any open spaces in the bottom of the baking pan.
#5. Roll the dough up, starting with the long, 15″ edge. 
You should end up with a roll about 15″ long and a couple of inches deep. Seal edges together by pinching them closed. (Don’t worry if they don’t seal tightly, and if you cut with the seam side down, they shouldn’t come apart much.)
Slice with a sharp knife into twelve equal pieces. I’ve found it’s easiest to slice it once in the middle, and then into quarters, 
and then each of the quarters into three smaller pieces.
#6. Separate each pecan roll and place them evenly in the bottom of the pan. Cover the pan with saran wrap and refrigerate overnight (if you want). 
You can also set them on the counter to rise for several hours if you want to bake them that evening. 
I usually serve them for breakfast, so I keep them in the refrigerator over night and then in the morning, I take them out of the refrigerator and let them rise for several hours before baking. (If you don’t have “several hours,” you can warm them in an over set to “warm” or 150°F, but keep the plastic wrap on and be very careful, because they can start to bake or dry out, and it sometimes makes the plastic wrap stick so it’s hard to get off before baking. If the wrap sticks, pull super slowly, using your fingers to protect the rolls if need be, or you might end up with the rolls deflating. 😦 )
#7. Preheat the oven to 350°F. If the rolls haven’t risen enough on their own (such as on a cold winter morning), you can also encourage them along by setting the pan (still covered, so they don’t dry out) on the top of your oven if it is warm. 
#8. When the rolls are starting to touch each other, take off the saran wrap and pop them into the oven preheated to 350°F. and bake them for approximately 30 minutes or until golden brown. 
If you catch them when they’re no longer doughy but just starting to brown, I’ve found that they last longer without drying out. 
They are best served fresh out of the oven, although they are good all day. If you’ve succeeded in baking them through but only lightly, and you keep the unused rolls covered, they can be reheated and still taste fresh for a couple of days.
While we were on our North Sea cruise and sailing in and out of Norway’s gorgeous fjordlands, Alan and I watched The King’s Choice, a recent docudrama that tells the gripping story of the Nazis’ arrival in Oslo, Norway on April 9, 1940, and how King Haakon VII of Norway chose to respond to that threat. 
The unthinkable ultimatum? Surrender or die! Although the movie primarily follows three of Norway’s most historically dramatic days, it is really a lesson in 
courage, valor, and one family’s anguish over making the right moral choice 
…not simply for themselves, but for their entire nation. 
If you’re not versed in Norwegian history, you might not know much about the events, and actually, this is the first time I understood more of the complexities from “behind the scenes.” 
As a kid, all I knew was that the king and his family had escaped from Norway during World War 2, and I admit rather sheepishly to wondering why everybody loved the king’s family so well when they escaped and so many Norwegians died. 
In Norway, the film was a huge success. In fact, it was the best-selling film in 4 decades of Norwegian cinema and was short-listed for the Oscars in the U.S. 
It premiered at Norway’s royal palace with all available members of the royal family attending, so you know it honored not only country, but king! 
If you (like me) have ever wondered why countries capitulated so easily during World War 2, this movie will help you understand some of the terror they felt. (I realize being terrified doesn’t give us permission to make wrong choices, but I’m just sayin’! The only way to overcome evil is with good, by God’s grace!)
It’s also helped me understand why Jesus taught, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”* We never ever understand all the circumstances around anyone else’s actions, so we should never suppose we can judge another person’s motives. 
We can (and must) judge people’s actions, but even there Jesus cautions us to “judge righteous judgment.”** I aspire to (as in, “I want very much but have not arrived”) being a person who respects other people enough to withhold judgment and exercise a gracious spirit toward them as much as possible. 
Summer Setting 