A Letter to our daughter Stephanie for her grad

Stephanie Grace Gerk;

Your name Stephanie means “Crowned One”, because Christ holds for you a crown of victory, waiting for you in the next world. You were named this because of the story of Stephen in the Bible. He was loyal to the Faith…and was so stubborn about it he was even willing to die for what he believed in.

Your second name, Grace, was given to you because both your Mom and I were so mindful of God’s goodness and His grace extended over our family…we felt it was important to acknowledge that Grace by giving you a name that would proclaim it to the world, and when you were dedicated, our prayer that Grace would not only be part of your name, but be an integral part of your life.

That is your calling Stephanie. Crowned one suggests royalty…a vision of who you are in Christ. Grace is the gift that God gives to each of us, and then desires that we share it and have it as our banner over the entire world.

Wherever you go, whether Russia, or another city, your duty and calling is to proclaim the gift of Grace to all that will listen. Among the many gifts, Stephanie, that God has given you are an ability to see injustice, a stubbornness to do what you have set your mind on – gifts that when allowed to be molded by God, will make you an unstoppable force for the Kingdom of God. Use your gifs wisely, for God has a destiny for you, that only you will be able to fulfill – no one else!

We leave you with these words, taken from the Message Translation of Scripture:

Proverbs 3

1-2 Good friend, don't forget all I've taught you; take
to heart my commands.
They'll help you live a long, long time,
a long life lived full and well.

3-4 Don't lose your grip on Love and Loyalty.
Tie them around your neck;
carve their initials on your heart.
Earn a reputation for living well
in God's eyes and the eyes of the people.

5-12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he's the one who will keep you on track.
Don't assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over.
But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline;
don't sulk under his loving correction.
It's the child he loves that GOD corrects;
a father's delight is behind all this.
The Very Tree of Life

13-18 You're blessed when you meet Lady Wisdom,
when you make friends with Madame Insight.
She's worth far more than money in
the bank; her friendship is better than a big salary.
Her value exceeds all the trappings of wealth;
nothing you could wish for holds a candle to her.
With one hand she gives long life,
with the other she confers recognition.
Her manner is beautiful,
her life wonderfully complete.
She's the very Tree of Life to those who embrace her.
Hold her tight—and be blessed!

19-20 With Lady Wisdom, GOD formed Earth;
with Madame Insight, he raised Heaven.
They knew when to signal rivers and springs to the surface,
and dew to descend from the night skies.
Never Walk Away

21-26 Dear friend, guard
Clear Thinking and Common Sense with your life;
don't for a minute lose sight of them.
They'll keep your soul alive and well,
they'll keep you fit and attractive.
You'll travel safely, you'll neither tire nor trip.
You'll take afternoon naps without a worry,
you'll enjoy a good night's sleep.
No need to panic over alarms or surprises,
or predictions that doomsday's just around the corner,
Because GOD will be right there with you;
he'll keep you safe and sound.

27-29 Never walk away from someone who deserves help;
your hand is God's hand for that person.
Don't tell your neighbor "Maybe some other time"
or "Try me tomorrow" when the money's right
there in your pocket.
Don't figure ways of taking advantage of your neighbor
when he's sitting there trusting and unsuspecting.

30-32 Don't walk around with a chip on your shoulder,
always spoiling for a fight.
Don't try to be like those who
shoulder their way through life.
Why be a bully?
"Why not?" you say. Because GOD can't stand twisted souls.
It's the straightforward who get his respect.

33-35 GOD's curse blights the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the home of the
righteous.
He gives proud skeptics a cold shoulder,
but if you're down on your luck, he's right there to help.
Wise living gets rewarded with honor;
stupid living gets the booby prize.

God Bless you Stephanie…we are very very proud of you and what you have managed to accomplish! Love, Mom & Dad

Привольное (Варенбург \ Warenburg)

This snap is of the remains of the cemetery in the former Volga German village of Warenburg. I've seen many of these on my travels, but none so lonely and massive as this.

Soviets removed any grave markers and so you have row upon row of unmarked graves...I guess kinda reminding me they're all waiting for something.

As was the case for all the Volga Germans, everyone from this village was deported to Siberia in September of 1941.

A chap from Russia has visited a number of the old villages and placed his photos online, hence this fascinating and lonely photo.

On the death of the wicked

World Magazine
Written by Tony Woodlief
June 1, 8:32 AM

My wife wept when she heard that abortionist George Tiller had been murdered. She cried out and left the sanctuary of our church, perhaps for fear of hearing that God had ordained it, that it was all part of His plan. When a tidal wave kills thousands, or when a child is stricken with cancer, or even when a wicked killer is struck down with unlawful violence, it is hard to hear that this is part of God’s plan to glorify Himself, as if all this bloodshed and misery is what He intended from the beginning.

“‘Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?’ says the Lord God, ‘and not that he should turn from his ways and live’?” Perhaps more chilling, for a Bible-toting assassin, would be Christ’s promise: “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Perhaps this is why George Tiller’s murderer did not stand beside his freshly fallen corpse, but fled like a coward. Perhaps as he saw firsthand what it feels like to unjustly take up the Judge’s sword, he felt the cold shadow of it cross over his own neck.

And so now a killer is dead and a murderer imprisoned and God knows how many people grief-stricken or furious or—God have mercy on their souls—exultant. A gunshot took a death merchant from the earth, but who knows what evil it has unleashed?

But worst of all, which is what grieved my wife, is that George Tiller was sent to fall before the judgment seat of God, where even a righteous man must tremble. Whatever might have been for him is ended. Perhaps he would have continued to shed the blood of innocents. Perhaps he would have repented, to the rejoicing of angels. None of that is for us to know.

We can know this, however: George Tiller was fashioned in the image of God and he was cut down by the unlawful hand of man. He is no martyr. But he is not so different from you or I. And where might we go, God have mercy on our souls, were we slaughtered in the midst of our unrepentance?

It is an awful thing indeed to slay a wicked man. Who dares claim that authority? Who aspires to sit in the judgment seat of the Living God? Better instead to pray, all of us, for ourselves and our loved ones and our enemies alike, because all of us will one day give an accounting. God have mercy on those of us who must give that accounting with bloody hands.