First, prayers for my mother-in-law would be appreciated. She’s now in stage 7 of Alzheimer’s disease, and it’s a tough season of life for all of us. She fell yesterday and got a big gash in her head that required a trip to the ER and multiple stitches. We’re at the point of needing skilled care to keep her in the addition we built for her a few years ago. Otherwise, we will need to find a memory care facility for her—something she has resisted all her life.

Second, as it says in Psalm 122:6, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” The Middle East is a tinderbox again, and it remains to be seen how violent the current situation will get. It’s been uncanny going through the book of Daniel right now as world events are unfolding the way they are. We were in Daniel 7 today, which is one of the apocalyptic texts in the Aramaic section of the book. We did talk about “the little horn” (= “the antichrist”), but we spent more of our time discussing “the Son of Man,” which was deeply encouraging. I really need to catch up on my sermon summary posts next week. The book of Daniel is incredible—one of my favorites.

Third, I got to see my niece and nephew Friday night at the Hamburg football game. Their daughter is a senior cheerleader, and their son is a freshman linebacker and substitute quarterback. It always gnaws at me that my brother isn’t here to see his kids and grandkids do their thing. He would be so proud of them. It was a tender moment when I saw his grandson play a few downs and comport himself on the field with the exact same mannerisms as my brother. It kind of took my breath away. A few tears may have been involved, too. Such is the nature of a premature exit from life.

Fourth, the Phillies won their opening game of the NLDS last night against Atlanta. That was a delightful surprise as the Braves have the best record in baseball. I know—this hardly registers as “important” on the scale of life’s priorities, but it’s nice to have a pleasant diversion once in a while. My other diversion has been listening to some new tunes I had never heard before. Cheers to those lovely souls who introduce me to new things while I force myself to learn the Sumerian and Akkadian alphabets. 

🎵😊 ♯ 💙🎶❤️♮💚♭

Be well.

Edit:

And just like that, “Pin, meet balloon. Balloon, pin.”