the view from the pew 7-30-17

Susan and I attended 10:45 service at Holy Cross. Our hymns were “Voices Raised to You We Offer”, “Open Our Eyes”, “On Eagle’s Wings”, “We Give Thee But Thine Own” and “You Are My All in All”. We had a pleasant surprise when Keri and Isabella sang a duet, “Only By Grace”. Pastor Sattler likes to……

the daily purge 7-31-17

My Marta’s yellow purse. My Marta is a mysterious daughter. She, as a girl (that’s Dad talk), or as a woman (everybody else’s pov) would have the normal human items such as an identification; different modes of payment such as cash, coins, credit cards and maybe even a checkbook; car keys; a pencil and pen;……

the daily purge 7-28-17

My Sweet Rib was the one in our family with the dewwing-do to buy our first smart phone. She is the one who dips her toe into a new pond first especially when testing and buying new technology. She also subscribed to Hello Fresh! , a ready-to-make dinner service mailed straight to our front door,……

the daily purge 7-27-17

There isn’t a garage in America that doesn’t have a random piece of metal on a shelf or in a box in the corner by your kid’s old skateboard. Any garage in good standing also contains jars with various screws, nails, metal and rubber washers, and assorted wires. It has a container of ‘plant gro’,……

the view from the timbers 7-23-17

My wife Susan and I spent the weekend at a camp in Michigan tailored to keeping Latvian culture and language alive. The word ‘Garezers’ translates as ‘Long Lake’, the name of the property the camp is situated on. ‘Dievam un Latvijai’ is ‘God and Latvia’. The three stars to the right of the sign represent the three……

the daily purge 7-26-17

Kaden the Superpup (KSP) weighed two pounds when The Purging Lutheran and My Sweet Rib bought him. As with any baby (or teen, adult & grandpappy) be it canine, mosquito, human or beluga, hunger is its most basic emotion. KSP would be eat eat eating when he wasn’t pee pee peeing or 2 2 2ing. Not……

the daily purge 7-25-17

Woven by human hand or weaved by robotic biomimetic anthropomorphic hand? If this looks manmade then it was woved by a human. If it looks impeccable, as though weavered by a machine, then it was weavened by a machine. An engineer would never design a machine to mimic a human’s humanness. Engineers demand perfection from……

the daily purge 7-24-17

Rick: Last night we said a great many things. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us. Well, I’ve done a lot of it since then, and it all adds up to one thing: you’re getting on that plane with Victor where you belong. (tpl thinking to himself): This is such……

the daily purge 7-21-17

Trust The Purging Lutheran, this is a shirt. It belonged to My Sweet Rib. Oh, I suppose it still does but she will not be wearing it anywhere. “Why is that, Mr. So-and-so?” It is because Kaden the Superpup (The Jaws of Mt. Kilamanjaro; The Teeth of Navarone; Citizen Pain; Ben Hurt) jumped at MSR……

the daily purge 7-20-17

How long do you think cutting boards have been in existence? If you know please tell The Purging Lutheran. This is a wooden cutting board My Sweet Rib used the other day to make supper. It appears as though one of us didn’t wipe the board before we put it in the dishwasher. Speaking of……

the daily purge 7-19-17

This was a fine comforter The Purging Lutheran and My Sweet Rib kept on our bed for many years. It’s got a bit of country *twang* design to it. Ain’t that grand, cowboy? What we didn’t know until Kaden the Superpup bit into it was it was filled with those big puffy clouds you see……

the daily purge 7-18-17

The Purging Lutheran knows how to read instructions though I don’t always read them. How difficult could it have been to operate a 4.6″x2.4″x1.0″ cleaning pad? How do you make a small smudge go away? By rubbing it with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and making it a large smudge. Who is Mr. Clean? He……

the view from the pew 7-16-17

This is an art piece made in Latvia made by an unknown artist. It was gifted to the Indianapolis Latvian church by a fellow, now deceased, named Janis Karklins. It was carved from a single piece of wood. What do we see here? There are mostly homes. I see at least one church with a……

the daily purge 7-17-17

nom-nom-nom Kaden the Superpup (KSP) nommed my left-foot slipper a few weeks ago. The Purging Lutheran received my new slips ordered online just a few moments ago. So out this one goes. But what about my old right-foot slipper? It’s still in good shape and useful. It seems a shame to throw it away. I……

the daily purge 7-14-17

“They made new sacred vessels and brought the lamp stand, the altar of incense, and the table into the temple. Then they burned incense on the altar and lighted the lamps on the lamp stand, and these illuminated the temple.” (1 Maccabees 4:49-50) Abraham Lincoln, in one of his debates with Stephen Douglas, was asked……

the daily purge 7-13-17

“Drop a pebble on a pond and watch the ripples zoom along” – The Sewercides* Earlier this year, July 6, The Purging Lutheran purged a beat-up 0reck carpet cleaner. I thought that was the end of the story until earlier today as I was laundering Kaden the Superpup’s bankie, I eyed this 0reck cleaning solution.……

the daily purge 7-12-17

Is this a prayer mat for peeps who worship flowers, bushes, and ornamental grasses? It could be. The Purging Lutheran has met a few humans in my life who tend to their vegetation much the same way others are involved with fantasy football leagues, eight track tapes, ethnic dancing, hot air ballooning, baseball statistics, tattoos,……

the daily purge 7-11-17

The Purging Lutheran a homewrecker? It would seem that way. I sat on this chair the other day and look what happened. The seat of this chair surrendered itself to years of snow and cold, heat and rain, wind and dust in the wind. After 10+ years of meteorological abuse, I salute the chair maker:……

the view from the pew 7-8-17

During my years as a Christian I have been through many phases. The cross-wearing phase, the nothing-but-Christian music phase, the WWJD-bracelet-wearing phase and so on. One phase in particular was listening-to-pastors-on-the-radio. I remember clearly when a well known radio pastor was talking about a man he went to see who was on his death bed.……

the daily purge 7-10-17

“Memories, pressed between the pages of my mind Memories, sweetened through the ages just like wine Quiet thought come floating down And settle softly to the ground Like golden autumn leaves around my feet I touched them and they burst apart with sweet memories” So sang Elvis Presley years ago. Elvis had memories. Grigori Rasputin……

the daily purge 7-7-17

“Marge, it takes two to lie. One to lie and one to listen.” ~ Homer Simpson The Purging Marge bought this bottle of Homer a few cats ago. What lies am I talking about? No Stress – Cats and I still engage in stress. Calming Spray – Cats and I are not regularly calm. Quick……

the daily purge 7-6-17

This is The Purging Lutheran’s very first carpet cleaner. It achieved ‘warhorse’ status 10 years in and lasted about 14. Mr. Oreck certainly built a fine working carpet machine but it did have a few disadvantages. It had a too-short cord. A Happy Home tip from me to you: When buying a household convenience, get one……

the daily purge 7-5-17

Is it a stick or a pole? It is a pole. A stick would be crooked and brown as though fallen from a tree. The Purging Lutheran bought this pole (not a stick) from a hanging-your-clothes store. I donut remember where we had to live where we needed a pole (not a stick) to hang……

America, july 4

“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.” — Bill Clinton “It’s Fourth of July weekend, or, as I call it, Exploding Christmas.” — Stephen Colbert “All great change in America begins at the dinner table.” — Ronald Reagan “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when……

the view from the pew 7-1-17

God bless our native land! Firm may she ever stand   Saturday, 5:45 pm, Holy Cross Lutheran Church. Pastor Sattler presiding. When appropriate, our church observes secular holidays throughout the calendar year. Come 4th of July weekend we celebrate those things we are free to do as a church where those in other countries might……