Good Lord's Day, MUSIC SELECTION-Each week is usually mine. However; I am open to your suggestions, as this week. I will make honest effort to find your favorite. Sometimes, exact wording is changed from book to book. You know the spirit of the songs we all love. COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS WHEN UPON LIFE'S BILLOWS YOU ARE TEMPEST TOSSED. WHEN YOU ARE DISCOURAGED, THINKING ALL IS LOST. COUNT YOUR MANY BLESSINGS, NAME THEM ONE BY ONE. AND IT WILL SURPRISE YOU WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE. Chorus: COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, NAME THEM ONE BY ONE. COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, SEE WHAT GOD HATH DONE. COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, NAME THEM ONE BY ONE. COUNT YOUR MANY BLESSINGS, SEE WHAT GOD HATH DONE. SO AMID THE CONFLICT, WHETHER GREAT OR SMALL. DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED, GOD IS OVER ALL; COUNT YOUR MANY BLESSINGS, ANGELS WILL ATTEND, HELP AND COMFORT GIVE YOU TO YOUR JOURNEY'S END. I RECALL THIS-From my childhood being sung in the community church. I thought it really great when they would sing "weigh them ton by ton". Still do. You are counting, I know. PSALM 92:1-"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:" YOUTH RALLY- I am asked almost daily if I have done anything different. This week, I went to a youth rally. I am pretty sure that Jeanene and I had the grayest hair present-but there was no award. I used the word "different" above. It sure was! We were there because our twin grandsons (14) were in a select drama group. The rate of everything was accelerated. The pace of the music, the speaking, the offering and the general tone was "loud and aggressive" just like the 300 plus teens there with the youth pastors and advisers. (At least it seemed fast to all those in attendance over the age of 65.) But then, this was a "loud and aggressive" crowd. Vernacular has really changed. I never heard the term "fired up" or "sold out", I never heard "cool" or "right on", or any of the many phases of phrases through which I have come. This crowd was "pumped". I have used my Strong's Exhaustive concordance and my Roget's Thesaurus. HELP!!!! I kept thinking that what they were trying to say had already been said in Romans 6:4. "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so should we walk in newness of life" That old English (King James Version-1611) is pretty "heavy" and "turns you off". Some kids did "walk the aisle" at invitation time, so I guess that they understood. They were moved to another area for further prayer. This new area was also where everybody went for free pizza a little later; though in all fairness, it was never used as bribery to come forward and be first to eat. Conclusion: As young as I think of myself-I really didn't "belong" there. HERE IS A BOOK-For you who have asked for something to read on the subject of stewardship. Mine is not a book club like Oprah's, nor an effort to get everybody in town to read the same book. The Key to Everything by Jack Hayford was published about ten years ago by Creation House. www.creationhouse.com and follow down by author about two screens. From a humorous first chapter through about 190 pages, you will be blessed and challenged. International Standard Book Number-ISBN 0-88419-415-9. I HAVE A QUESTION-Whenever I mention Jack Hayford. Why so much ability in one person? Successful pastor, outstanding writer, speaker known worldwide on weekly television and daily radio broadcasts as well as at men's meetings. He also has written about five hundred songs and choruses like this: LORD, YOU CAUSE MY HEART TO LAUGH, AND MAKE MY MOUTH TO SING. LORD, YOU FILL MY LIPS WITH PRAISE, AND NOW THE PRAISES RING. FOR THE JOY OF YOUR WAY INCREASES EVERYDAY AND MY HANDS ARE REACHING OUT TO YOU IN LOVE. SO I'M REACHING UP EXPRESSING LOVE AND THANKS TO THEE. AND I'M REACHING OUT TO JOIN THE HANDS OF THOSE BY ME. AND THE JOY OF YOUR WAY INCREASES EVERYDAY, AND I FIND MY HANDS ARE REACHING OUT IN LOVE. Get a group of worshippers to sing these words to their merry melody, Add the implied motions and you have a good combination. Even if you think I may be envious. SERIOUS THOUGHTS-Come when I read today's news about the Middle East. We, as a nation, are expending our very best efforts on this problem that is fifty centuries old. A recent AOL/CNN poll stated that over seventy percent of Americans are opposed to using our troops. CBS reporters are saying that Sharon and Arafat are "incapable" of ever reaching agreement. An increasing number of commentators are saying,"polish the weapons" worldwide. Where are we headed?? As I view a topographical map of the area between Israel and Lebanon, I find an area called "Megiddo"(Golan Heights) as I move eastward toward Syria. Today, there is a UN peacekeeping force in that area that numbers 7,500 troops. I read Revelation 16:12-16 and Revelation 19:11-21. The question is not "where" we are headed. Just "how fast" will we get there! WORTH KEEPING-I was flattered to learn that one of you took time to print out these letters and file them. Whether or not they are worth that effort, I hope that they get beyond the "delete" key. After I delete all of the offers to make me incredibly wealthy and those to alter my physical condition in some way, I am ready to read some good e-mail from you. I simply do not have the time to respond to each message. HELLO THERE-Is a common greeting to much of my personal mail. "HELLO THERE" to old friends that I find almost each week and to new friends that I meet. SUPREME COURT-Ruling earlier this week that affects pornography on the Internet should concern you greatly. What is "artistic expression?--a code word for lewdness!! PRAYER REQUEST-I don't have the details, but a minister friend of mine who reads this is having a great deal of problems in his ankles. Thanks! INDULGE ME-For one more paragraph about the youth rally. Whether we "belong" or not is not the real issue. We need to get a fresh sense of where the church is moving. Austin may or may not be the place. The crowd that night was mostly high schoolers who all seemed very comfortable with each other. The church site is almost rural, but you must drive through heavily black areas to reach it. The influence of the Latino nations is strong here. The computer hubs of Austin have recruited heavily in the Orient. Most of us have had a "white bread" experience in the church. That must change. I am not a "crusader" on race, or any other matter. I am simply saying to "get your head out of the sand" in our modern world. The balance of you will be buried. His, Ron Krantz OOPS!-I nearly forgot that I was going to discuss a birthday gift for Megan at 22. The cut-off year is age 21, so we broke that unwritten rule. We obliterated the budget! Parents (mostly), grandparents, aunts, uncles etc. made her the owner of an IBM Thinkpad laptop. No more gifts until she turns 60.