Blogito ergo sum.

One of the serendipities of entering the Lutheran fellowship after years of being in Presbyterian and Baptist circles is learning new hymns, which is like having new eyes and new ears to the great truths of the faith and the wonders of life and the world.

“With the Lord Begin Your Task” is a hymn we sing on the Sunday before Labor Day, but it applies to every Monday-thru-Friday of the entire year.

With the Lord begin your task; Jesus will direct it.

For His aid and counsel ask; Jesus will perfect it.

Ev’ry morn with Jesus rise, and, when day is ended,

In His name then close your eyes;

Be to Him commended.

Let each day begin with prayer, praise, and adoration.

On the Lord cast ev’ry care; He is your salvation.

Morning, evening, and at night Jesus will be near you,

Save you from the tempter’s might;

With His presence cheer you. 

If your task be thus begun with the Savior’s blessing,

Safely then your course will run,

Toward the promise pressing,

Good will follow ev’rywhere while you here must wander;

You at last the joy will share in the mansions yonder.

If I’m a baby boomer, my son is a boomerang.  He and his four children moved in last April, and here are a few changes around the house in the ensuing four months:

• We now have Hannah Montana shampoo in the Master Bath shower (it’s actually not bad!).
• We have a small trampoline and other assorted toys in the lanai, instead of a pretty flower garden.
• Baby food, diapers, pullups, and wipes are stuffed into every spare corner.
• We only park one car in the garage to make room for bikes and trikes.
• In fact, we only have one car now; the other vehicle is a van.
• We have two bedrooms where the living/dining area used to be.
• We watch fewer movies in the family room, and the ones we do watch often star Care Bears, Curious George, and other animals.
• Dates with my lovely wife cannot be spontaneous any more, but must be planned for judiciously and well in advance. 
• Saturday mornings are no longer leisurely, coffee-drinking, newspaper-reading occasions.
• The washer and dryer (both new, large capacity) run constantly.
• Neighborhood kids are over to play – a lot.
• The decibel level is significantly higher.
• We have childproof locks on all lower-level drawers and cabinet doors.
• We chain up Wesley the Wonder Dog during meal times so that he doesn’t get a taste for “people food.”
• I enjoy being outside, mowing the yard, a lot more than I used to.
• We have sold off all of the glass tables and replaced them with wooden ones.
• I dare not leave my laptop out and on, except when I am sitting right in front of it.
• Golf outings are less frequent – once a month would be nice.
• Time for reflective reading is pushed later and later into the evening, after bedtime.
• Time for blogging is even rarer than time for reflective reading.

These are musings, not complaints.  It’s not very often that we get to make such a dramatic difference for good in the lives of other human beings, and among all of these other things, life is happier and more blessed when we do it.  No reservations, no regrets, no retreat.