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The coming year should be a good one for greens: after eight years of whining, environmentalists finally have an ally in the White House and a real chance to get things done. Here's a rough month-by-month guide to the big issues we'll be hearing about in 2009:
January: Three weeks into the new year, Obama will take over the reins of power. Watch out for energy and environmental references in his inauguration speech: fixing the economy will undoubtedly top his to-do list, but greens will be disappointed if the climate battle doesn't come a close second.
February: It's one thing to promise reforms, and quite another to actually pay for them. February should provide a reality check, as Obama unveils his first budget and tells America which of his energy and environmental promises he can actually afford to implement.
March: Congress will need to pass a new spending bill by early March to keep the federal government ticking over. That could give lawmakers a chance to reinstate an offshore drilling ban, which jittery Democratic leaders cut from this year's spending measure amid soaring oil prices.
April: On the campaign trail, Obama pledged to ensure that signatories to NAFTA and other trade deals met basic environmental standards. That promise could come under the spotlight this month, as hemispheric leaders head to Trinidad and Tobago for the annual Summit of the Americas.
May: The start of May marks the end of Obama's first 100 days. By that point, Obama should have built plenty of momentum for his energy reforms; if he's still struggling to find his feet, it could be a sign that he won't be able to deliver on his pledge to bring sweeping change during his first term.
June: In a key test of Obama's willingness to risk displeasing corporate America, a new rule on commercial lighting comes up for final approval in June. Overhauling the strip-lights used in American workplaces wouldn't come cheap, but it's an important part of Obama's plans to boost energy efficiency.
July: Obama will take to the world state at July's G8 summit, and needs to dazzle the international community to lay the groundwork for a meaningful global climate deal. Don't expect massive anti-globalization protests: the summit will be held on a remote Italian island that's accessible only by boat.
August: Some are predicting that August will bring a rush of "Obama babies", conceived during the heady wave of optimism that followed Obama's election nine months earlier. Paging Dr Malthus...
September: Roads and railways will be on the agenda this month, as the surface transportation bill comes up for renewal. Some transport wonks wants to see the gas tax phased out and replaced with a per-mile charge, reflecting increased fuel economy and alternative fuel use.
October: Anti-terrorism rules governing chemical safety will expire this month, and the Center for American Progress has already begun calling for Obama to use the deadline to push through a comprehensive overhaul of America's chemical-management rules.
November: November will bring Obama's last chance to push through cap-and-trade legislation before world leaders head to Denmark for climate talks. Solid progress, if not finished legislation, will be needed if Obama is to convince the world he's taking climate change seriously.
December: As Obama's first year in charge draws to a close, all eyes will be on Copenhagen, where world leaders will meet to broker a replacement for the Kyoto climate agreement. How warm a reception Obama receives will depend, in large part, on how well he handled the previous eleven months. Keep your fingers crossed; we could be in for a bumpy ride...
This article originally appeared in "Plenty" in January 2009.


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A message from JMP creator John Sall
Just a quick one, its late and I cant figure it out.
In have several columns but for the main data I am trying to pull here is just 3 of them.
Tool, Transaction time, part number created - So basically the Tool name shows for anything from 2 to 40 rows of the parts created on this tool but the part numbers are all different (not doubling up and not incremental all unique). What I want to do is capture sum totals of the parts created on each tool in the time frame I pull the data for. Also when pull the data is it possible to set it to return the time of the first part created?
So looking for something along these lines.
Tool Trans Time Sum Part Number
Thanks for looking..
You may try this,
Proc SQL;
Select Tool,
Min(TransTime) /* Should give you the first Trans Time */
count(partnum) /* Number of Parts made per tool */
from <data>
Where Trans Time = <Custom Filter>
Group by Tool;

subset: commoncrawl


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I'm talking about hot water heating, a topic that ignited a blaze of controversy. Some people swore by tankless water heaters, a technology long used in Europe but new here. Others who replaced their hot water tank with an on-demand system wanted to rip it out of their home.
Some comments ended up in my blog post a few weeks ago, but more are coming in. It seems everyone has an opinion on how to save energy. It's a subject that makes readers get really get hot under the collar.
Let's pay tribute to Dan, a homeowner who shared his experience with others and came up with than 500 tips for saving energy, of which 275 cost absolutely nothing to do. You can find his tips broken down into subcategories here.
"Our objective is in part to remind people that they don't need to wait for government handouts to reduce their household utility bills at any time of the year, as well as provide a quick list that people can access whenever they want at no cost," he says. "After all, most of the items on the list were submitted to us free of charge."
Let's also give a shout to Jim Davidson's book, which gave lots of advice about how to make your car go further before filling up the gas tank. Some of his 75 tips made people exceed the speed limit with indignation.


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Gov. announces aid for flood recovery
Gov. John Hickenlooper said $12 million in grants will help repair 16 community water and wastewater systems affected by the September floods.
Hickenlooper's office announced Friday that the grants will fund planning, design and construction or improvement of systems damaged and destroyed by the floods.
Some of the money goes to Boulder, Jefferson, Larimer and Weld counties to help repair or replace private septic systems.
Jamestown will get $1 million to rebuild service lines, so displaced families can finally return home.
The city of Boulder will receive more than $1.5 million in grant money.
Read or Share this story: http://noconow.co/1ndlrG0


text: After the death of his mother and the end of his father's high-powered career, Zach and his Dad have come to the north of Scotland to live rent-free in Grandfather Alistair's cliff-top cottage. Dad asks Zach to clean out the old garden pond, a rotting nightmare where not even a tadpole can survive. But when he drains the pond, he unearths something unexpected- a trapdoor leading down into darkness… He ventures down there and discovers something amazing – a glowing egg-shaped stone. Once brought back to the surface, Zach's run of bad luck seems to change entirely. Suddenly, he can't seem to stop winning and even Dad's career is unexpectedly back on track. But good luck can't last forever… The stone belongs to a race of ancient creatures that dwell deep beneath the ground – and they want it back. Pretty soon, unspeakable things begin to claw their way to the surface in search of the stone – and for Zach and his new friend, Pepper, there's one all-important question. Can they stay alive until morning?


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I ought to be flattered, actually. Now that the weblog is getting extra broadly learn, I am getting a lot of invites to press launches, tastings, that kind of factor. I read them all, and I first verify whether or not or not they're on within the daytime while I'm at work (they normally are) and whether or not they appeal (they often do not). But one arrived in my inbox a month or so in the past that caught my eye – something a couple of mango tasting, forwarded on from a fellow blogger who could not make the date. Steak tasting, test. Cocktail tasting, verify. Mango tasting. High quality, sign me up. Meals is affordable and expensive at the same time. First off, restaurants are costly, interval. The most affordable meal at McDonalds is the 4.seventy five for his or her McChicken Worth Meal, nevertheless it comes with … Read More
Asia's House Of The 12 months
Asia House, along with the Danish Trade Council and Danfoss International Research Center, will jointly host the annual Entrepreneurship Day in Asia House. This yr, the Entrepreneurship Day will give attention to how you as a Danish entrepreneur can profit from entering clusters with other entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia as a gateway to entry the market within the region. Clusters, as a global entrepreneur idea, has been a totally built-in a part of the international entrepreneurship agenda for many years – most famous is the software program cluster in Silicon Valley in California. In Southeast Asia, increasingly more clusters and entrepreneur communities are being established. They serve as a perfect bridgehead to you as a Danish entrepreneur to be successful in the market in Southeast Asia. That is Countryside home type was designed for one in every of my shoppers. The floor plan is identical as my Bacolod Bricks House, … Read More
The Greatest Korean Dramas Of 2010
Capital cities across Asia spent the last month rolling out the purple carpet for a rarely seen customer: Saudi Arabia's ageing King Salman, accompanied by a a whole bunch-sturdy diplomatic entourage including senior princes, businessmen and ministers. Taking in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Japan, China and the Maldives, the king spent March leading a concerted effort to strengthen Saudi Arabia's industrial hyperlinks with Asia's fast-growing economies. L.A. Noire, developed by Crew Bondi, takes a step away from the motion and places you in a pushed story inside a thriving world. What you get out of the sport is what you place in. Going to a criminal offense scene and not doing all your job correctly, you ain't going to give you many clues.
One of the fun things concerning the recreation is the ton of weapons you can find, and customize—snipers, assault rifles, no matter—you name it and you'll just about … Read More
Stainless Steel Tee: Size, Materials and Manufacturing
The stainless steel tee is a structural element used in various projects. They are typically used for providing strength and rigidity, though they could also be used for aesthetic purposes. These tees are available in a wide variety of sizes, both standard and custom to the project needs. They may also be made from different materials, and they may also be manufactured typically by hot rolling or by laser fused technology.
Materials Used
Though carbon steel does provide strength, a stainless steel tee can offer the necessary structural strength while resisting rust. The typical stainless steel alloys used are 304/304L and 316/316L. Whichever one is used, both of them are suitable for forming and welding.
Type 304 is one of the most widely used stainless steels, and is sometimes known as "18-8" because it contains 18 percent chromium and eight percent nickel. It can be formed into a variety of … Read More
Benefit from the skills of interior designers and beautify your spaces
A home is as beautiful as its interiors. Cluttered spaces and bad geometry often mar the charms of an otherwise good-looking house. Even the time plays a role in dulling the radiance of spaces in a big way. So, if you ever feel that your home does not look elegant, there are always interior designers Gurgaon to seek help from. Such people are master of designing spaces of any shape and size; they know the art, science and engineering required to create beauty out of interiors or structures. Homeowners can rely on their skills to create a vast visual difference to their spaces.
More so, interior designers are trained professionals familiar with the use design elements in a subtle and apt manner. They are so much knowledgeable that every element, be it light, color, shape, form, hue and texture, can be utilized with the best of effects. More importantly, skilled … Read More


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The Very Reason behind Why You Should Resell Your Diabetic Test Strips
People as we are, the need to make sure that you will focus on improving your health as a whole is vital, and making sure that your investment will not be put to waste is essential as well. In the medical world, there are a number of things that are mishandled and are just thrown out to waste like that of a diabetic strip. But little did a number of people know that you can actually resell your diabetic test strips for cash.
The following items and specifics that we have should load you up with valuable information as to how it should be done. The thing is that there are a number of people who actually are having second thoughts about it, reason why it is appropriate that you will have to look into such matter first prior talking about the how's and the why's.
To get to the point, people are having concerns as to whether or not it is legal to sell diabetic test strips. The thing is that these things can actually be sold and that they are legal, given that the diabetic test strip you have is yours and not one that you have stolen or taken without permission.
Lessons Learned About Products
If you are wondering why these are being purchased, it is because of the fact that a number of companies are taking the initiative to help the unfortunate by buying diabetic test strips and sell them at a rather cheaper price. Instead of having your diabetic test strips to be dusted on the corner, to sell them instead will definitely do you good.
How to Achieve Maximum Success with Sales
While there are a wide range of reasons behind why people choose to sell diabetic test strips, having to decide to sell it will surely be ideal, regardless the reason behind. There are a number of these charity who are putting so much effort to ensure that the unfortunate are being guided and aided and selling them will not only help them, but also fills your pocket in a sense.
It will also be in your best interest to make sure that you will want to check and do adequate research in order for you to be able to find the right company where you will sell the test strips to. Doing this research will give you the idea and assurance that you will comply respectively to companies who are buying such test strips.


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Address: 90-92 The Parade, High Street, Watford, WD17 1AW
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Open: Monday to Saturday 9.00am-5.30pm
Late Night Thursday till 6.30pm
Product Code: DMC-FZ2000EB
Reserve and collect in store
Select Collect in store at the checkout then pop into our Watford shop
Price match promise
Seen it cheaper elsewhere? We'll match prices and offers. Terms Apply
Still not sure?
Speak to one of our experts and find a solution that's right for you. 01923226602
With a 20x optical zoom lens, a 1.0 inch MOS sensor and unlimited 4K video recording in MOV/MP4, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ2000 Digital Camera is a high-performance hybrid bridge camera that is suitable for both semi-professional videographers and photography enthusiasts. Constructed 16 elements in 11 groups, the f2.8-4.5 lens delivers a high-quality optical performance with little ghosting.
The LUMIX FZ2000 features the newly-developed LEICA DC VARIO-ELMART lens system which has a 20x optical zoom (35mm camera equivalent: 24-480mm) and F2.8-4.5. Comprising of 16 lenses in 11 groups, the lens system boasts high optical performance with minimum ghost and flaring and a guide-pole mechanism commonly used in professional video cameras. Together with the inner zoom structure, the guide-pole realises exceptional barycentric stability for smooth, stable zooming. The lens also incorporates a nine aperture diaphragm to realise soft, rounded defocus, which effortlessly matches sudden changes of brightness thanks to the adoption of a galvanometer also used in professional video cameras.
The LUMIX FZ2000 boasts exceptional video recording performance which has never been seen in a bridge camera. It is capable of unlimited 4K video recording (Cinema 4K: 4096x2160 / 24 fps and QFHD 4K: 3840x2160 / up to 30 fps) in MOV/MP4 and Full HD video at an ultra-high bitrate of 200 Mbps (ALL-Intra) or 100 Mbps (IPB).
Users can freely choose from MOV, MP4, AVCHD Progressive and AVCHD at a variety of frame rates according to the usage. For professional users, the system frequency can be flexibly selected between 59.94Hz (23.98Hz) / 50.00Hz / 24.00Hz. The LUMIX FZ2000 is also capable of real-time image output to an external monitor via an optional micro HDMI cable simultaneously while recording video. In addition, for more unique video expression, the LUMIX FZ2000 comes with further professional features such as Dolly Zoom, VFR (Variable Frame Rate), Time Lapse and Stop Motion Animation.
In further response to film production market demands, Panasonic offers an optional paid software upgrade for the LUMIX FZ2000 to comply with V-Log L video recording.
The LUMIX FZ2000 incorporates a 1-inch High Sensitivity MOS Sensor with 20.1-megapixel high resolution. This large MOS Sensor improves S/N ratio, resulting in dramatic reduction of noise – even when shooting at ISO 12800. The LUMIX FZ2000 also achieves ultra-high speed AF of approx. 0.09 sec and high-speed burst shooting at 12 fps (AFS) / 7 fps (AFC) to capture fast-moving subjects in-focus up to 100 (JPEG) / 30 (RAW) images.
An additional 4K PHOTO feature captures unmissable photo opportunities at 30 fps by extracting the most photogenic frame from the 4K burst file to save as a photo. Users can save pictures in 8-megapixel equivalent high resolution, which is suitable for printing up to A3 size.
The integrated Post Focus function enables the selection of the in-focus area of a single frame even after shooting, whilst Panasonic's new Focus Stacking function enables users to take multiple images of the same frame with different areas in focus, then combine all or selected focus areas into one image. Focus Stacking is particularly beneficial for shooting macro images.
The LUMIX FZ2000 integrates an OLED Live View Finder (LVF) with a 2360K-dot equivalent high resolution in approx. 2.18x / 0.74x (35mm camera equivalent in 4:3) magnification capability. Adoption of OLED for the LVF achieves a high-speed response with minimum time lag of less than 0.01 sec as well as 10,000:1 high contrast for exceptional visibility. With an eye-point of approximately 20 mm, it also offers high visibility with comfort for users wearing glasses.
The LUMIX FZ2000 also features a well-defined grip for a stable hold and minimum fatigue when consistently using the camera over a longer period of time. The front/rear dual dial system enables direct setting over shutter speed and aperture, and an optimum layout of dials, buttons, lever and switch offers intuitive control with comfort for both photo and video shooting.
For further intuitive control, the 3.0-inch large, approx.1040K-dot rear vary-angle touchscreen with approximately 100% of field of view enables shooting in either high or low angle easier.
|Image Stabilised
|Video Resolution
|Viewfinder Type
|Screen Size
|Tiltable Screen
|Wi-Fi Connection
|Memory Card Type
|Secure Digital (SD)
|Drop Proof
|Freeze Proof
|Warranty Period
|3 Years (if registered)


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The Lucia bar necklace is a great piece to wear alone or layer with the other necklaces. Its adjustable chain can be made 15"-16", and the length of the bar is 1". The perfect everyday necklace!
This piece is made to order; please allow 10-14 for it to ship!
- 14K yellow gold
- Pave diamonds, 0.08ct.
- Cable chain, adjustable from 15"-16"
- Bar measures 1" wide
- Made in New York with the finest craftsmanship!


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A Post-Thanksgiving Crab Crack
Photographer Tara Sgroi
Cookbook authors Matt Lee and Ted Lee invite you to try their favorite holiday tradition: a Lowcountry crab party with friends.
Harvest Celebration
Photographer Tara Sgroi
It's late November in the Lowcountry. A briny ocean aroma always fills the air, but it's tempered now with an earthy fragrance of fallen leaves. The trees aren't all bare, though―live oak leaves still cling to branches, and steadfast marsh grasses blush gold and crimson. "Fall is the best time of year for food," says Matt Lee, coauthor with brother Ted of The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook and The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern. "There's not a better time to be cooking in the South. Crabs are large, oysters are back in season, and there's a last harvest of warm-weather crops."
Annual Feast
Photographer Tara Sgroi
Thanksgiving is a traditional, formal affair for the Lees and their whole family. The next day is all about leftovers, but by Saturday, it's time for another kind of feast. For 20-plus years, Matt and Ted have made a November pilgrimage to the Johns Island, South Carolina, home that novelist Josephine Humphreys shares with her husband, Tom. Although the brothers spend some of the year in New York City, Ted says, "My spiritual home is Charleston. Here is where we go to cook."
Invited Friends
Photographer Tara Sgroi
Guests meander in for the daylong affair. Because there is always something good to talk about in South Carolina, there's always something good to write about, and this party has drawn a creative crowd: Josephine (author of Rich in Love), Dottie Frank (Return to Sullivans Island), Patti Callahan Henry (Losing the Moon), Mary Alice Monroe (Last Light Over Carolina), and Nathalie Dupree (Shrimp and Grits Cookbook).
Party Food
Photographer Tara Sgroi
The menu features a Lowcountry bounty, including hot boiled blue crabs caught in the Stono River, upstream about 6 miles as the crow flies. Then there's Dirty Rice―Matt and Ted's must-have side dish―along with zesty carrot slaw, hearty hominy stew, and plum upside-down cake prepared in a cast-iron skillet.
Crowd Pleaser
Photographer Tara Sgroi
Later, more of Matt and Ted's friends drop in, but there's still plenty of food and samples of Tom's house wine, made from last year's grape harvest. Standing around the makeshift plywood table, they roll up their sleeves and cheerfully dive into a pile of cooked crabs.
Cracked Crabs
Photographer Tara Sgroi
Bring all the creekside spirit of a crab crack indoors, if you have a long table covered with plenty of newspapers and friends keen on eating well! It's not unusual for Ted and Matt to order upwards of 200 live blue crabs for their crab crack parties. Because you have to cook the crabs in batches, we've scaled the recipe down to 12, so you can prepare them easily on a cooktop.
Recipe: Cracked Crabs
Carrot and Turnip Slaw with Dill
Photographer Tara Sgroi
To save time, grate the carrots and turnips in a food processor using the grater blade attachment.
Recipe: Carrot and Turnip Slow with Dill
Dirty Rice
Photographer Tara Sgroi
For this recipe, Matt and Ted give a classic Cajun dish a Lowcountry spin by adding okra.
Recipe: Dirty Rice
Hominy Stew with Chicken and Chiles
Photographer Tara Sgroi
This hearty meal is a great way to use your leftover turkey!
Boiled Peanuts
Photographer Tara Sgroi
Hot, homemade boiled peanuts are truly delicious, but you can order them already prepared online. Matt and Ted started their business with this regional treat (5 pounds for $26.50); boiledpeanuts.com.
Recipe: Boiled Peanuts
Plum Upside-Down Pudding Cake
Photographer Tara Sgroi
"This cake is beyond simple, yet festive and impressive―great for a large get-together. We simply toss fresh plum slices in a small amount of sugar and lemon juice, fan them around the bottom of a skillet, and pour a vanilla-buttermilk cake batter over them before baking," Ted says. The brothers also recommend using a well-seasoned cast iron skillet to bake the upside down cake, because the ample batter might overflow in a standard cake pan.
Recipe: Plum Upside-Down Pudding Cake


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But the truth is that organizing a successful fundraiser is not as hard as you're expecting it to be. Sure, it takes some planning, and it's important to do all that before you go charging out there with products to sell, but everything you need to do can be accomplished with some very simple internet research, which means you can start putting together your marching band fundraising idea right now, right here at the computer.
The two most important things to keep in mind with a marching band fundraiser are your fundraising team (usually the band members themselves), and their target customer base. In the case of a marching band fundraiser, the customer base may be the extended families of the band members, or the other students at school, or maybe just the neighborhoods around the school area. As long as you choose a marching band fundraiser while keeping those two things in mind, you're bound to head down the right road.
Marching band fundraisers have a built in marketing advantage - people love to support anything involving school and children. If you make the most of this and choose a fundraiser that matches your situation, you're sure to have a marching band fundraiser that will make everyone glad that you were the organizer.


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Enneagram of 9 Personalities
Definition: the Enneagram of 9 Personalities is a personality and coaching model based on the psychology of Freud, Rogers and Maslov. It distinguishes types of personalities. Some aspects of each personality type can be found inside each of us; however there is one dominant type each of us has since birth.
More on the enneagram of 9 personalities. More on personal skills: Active Listening, Assertiveness, Cohen-Bradford Influence Model, Collaboration Rules, Cultural Intelligence, more...
© 2020 MBA Brief - Last updated: 1-4-2020 - Privacy | Terms


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Last Updated: Mon 06 Apr
The club and golf course are CLOSED until further notice. We will communicate directly with our members and guests.
|Electric Trolleys
Feel like a tournament professional at Hampton Court Palace when playing off a grass range all year round.
Our range is approximately 300 yards in length allowing for drivers to be practiced too.
Additionally, for days where the weather is inclement, we also have a Huxley range mat installed.
Bucket Size
Member – £2.50
Visitor – £3.00
No need to book in advance, simply come along, prior to your round.
We'll see you on the range!
The perfect place to practice and hone your skills!
Book a round at Hampton Court Palace today
A great day out, with great friends. Book a golf society day now.
Party in style, in the gorgeous surrounds of Hampton Court Palace Golf Club
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The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.


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Accelerate your digital business with frictionless, secure and privacy protected identity management for consumers, business customers and employees.
Full Solutions
On-Top Solutions
Get our CIAM Buyer Toolset
Many organisations across various industries rely on iWelcome for serving their users with secure authentication and identity lifecycle management.
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We love to share knowledge and news on digital identities and iWelcome's products. There is food for thought for everybody, from geeks to rookies. We appreciate your feedback!


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Seasonal or long-term classic car storage solutions have to be carefully searched. Not all ideas that might cross your mind are suitable for such purposes, and you may find out this aspect the hard way. When your vehicle will be damaged due to a variety of factors. However, some of the solutions available on the market will offer you the certainty that your vehicle is properly stored and no unfortunate events will ever occur. Below are some of those solutions that you have to analyze before making a decision, but also some tips you must take into account before moving your classic vehicle in.
Search for the perfect storage solution
Classic cars are more difficult to care for than any other vehicles. Their lifespan, however, can be prolonged if you choose the best storage solution for them. Ideally, your solution should have climate control options. We all know how important a constant temperature is for all vehicles, but especially for those old jewelries. Because of this, experts recommend finding a storage unit in your area. These come with all the necessary conditions to safely keep your oldie and preserve it until you are ready to show it off at the next exhibition. Luckily, there are plenty of vehicle storage Springfield based solutions, which come with climate control and increased safety features. More than his, you will have on-site and other surveillance solutions at hand, for making sure that your car will be in safe "hands" at all times.
Change the oil and make sure your tank is full
Prior to storing a classic car in such a unit, you have to make sure that you prep it accordingly. The best way of doing so is making sure that your oil is freshly changed and that your vehicle's tank is full. Make sure that the gasoline is a premium one, because this type of gas will prevent moisture from building up in your tank. Take your car for a ride after doing so. You want to make sure that the premium gasoline and stabilizer will get through the system. An oil and filter change are also necessary. This will prevent the vehicle's engine from rusting, and in the case of a classic car, there can't be something worse than a rusty engine.
Clean and prep your car like a pro
There is nothing worse at the end of the cold season than a dirty, unpleasantly-smelling car. If you want to prevent this from happening, you should give it a deep cleanse and take some preventive measures when it comes to bad smells. Start by cleaning and waxing your car. This will prevent moisture and dirt from damaging the car's body. A box inside the car will help you prevent unpleasant smells, and you will be able to get out of the unit a car that smells and looks amazing.
These are three simple tips that you have to follow if you want to keep your car in perfect shape during long-term storage. You don't have to drive your car daily for assuring a high functionality. But you certainly have to pay increased attention to how you store it.


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The Captain of the Ship. Fourth Sunday After the Epiphany 2017. Matthew 8:23-27
Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
St. Peter Lutheran Church
St. Matthew 8:23-27
January 29, 2017
"The Captain of the Ship"
Iesu Iuva
Jesus gets into a boat, and his disciples follow. Then a great storm arises. It must have been a really great storm. At least four of Jesus' disciples are men who fished on this sea six days a week for years. They were familiar with the weather. They have been through storms before, and I'm certain that, being men who made a living with their hands and their back, they were not the type of men to show fear easily. But when they come to wake Jesus up, they cry like terrified children, they humiliate themselves: Lord, save us! We're dying!
I've known Christian men who were dying. Men don't want to admit fear of death and God's judgment in front of another man even when death is imminent. Yet these fishermen in the boat cry out to Jesus in terror.
This must have been an incredible storm.
I am sure that you have had storms like this throughout your life, whether you are listening on the radio or here today. You may very well be in one right now. It may be that the doctor told you how many months he thinks you have left; it may be that the doctor isn't sure what to tell you. Or it may not be a storm that threatens you with literal death, but it's bad enough that it's hard to get out of bed in the morning, or it's hard to bring yourself through the doors of the church.
Then there's the storms the Church goes through, which is really what this story is getting at. The boat that holds Jesus and the disciples is a picture of the Church. Look up there, at the ceiling; it kind of looks like the bottom of a boat. That's why the Latin word for the part of the church on your side of the altar rail is called the nave; it comes from the navis, which means "ship", which is also where we get the word "navy". The Church of Jesus is a little boat or an ark. It sails through the rough waters of this world, the storms of persecution, the flood of God's judgment, the depths of death and hell, and lets those inside out on the dry land of the new creation. And Jesus is in this boat with us. We aren't sailing ourselves to heaven. He is the Captain of the ark of the Holy Christian Church.
But the whole way on this voyage the boat is hit by storms. And throughout the 2000 years since Jesus ascended to the Father, the Church has cried out in desperation, feeling like the ship was sure to sink, and the Christians inside would perish.
Anyone who's a member of this congregation and cares about it at all, for whatever reason, knows this feeling. This Gospel reading today is your story, isn't it?
And if the Church sinks, it's far worse than when storms hit us individually. We come to the Divine Service, to other Christians, to the pastor, to find help when the storms hit us privately. We rely on the Church to be there when our child is going astray, when we are laid low with illness—to tell us what God says; to correct us when we live or believe contrary to His Word, and above all to proclaim to us the forgiveness of sins in His name. We come to the Church when our father or mother, husband or wife has died. We bring the bodies of the people we love most so that the Church—or rather Jesus through the Church—will preach to us that our loved one will rise again.
But if the Church goes under, destroyed by persecution or twisted and mutated so that it no longer proclaims God's Word—who will bring us the Gospel of Christ crucified? Who will tell us that it applies to us too? Who will forgive our sins in Jesus' name? Who will baptize our children? Who will give us the body and blood of Jesus? And not only us: if the Church goes under the waves, who will proclaim the coming judgment of God and the forgiveness of sins through Jesus to the world that falsely believes it has God already, without Christ?
+Our storms at St. Peter are not unique or new
–when all of Europe was supposedly Christian, a false gospel of salvation by human effort made the true Gospel for all intents and purposes unknown, until 500 years ago God worked through Martin Luther to restore it
–Since then the devil has worked to almost extinguish the pure Gospel again through luxury and wealth, through doctrinal indifference.
+Yet very few Christians realized that this was a storm that threatened to destroy the Church; very few even realize it today. We are only starting to realize in our Church that true faith in Christ was being eaten away for a long time; we started to realize it because this congregation is almost underwater.
We aren't the whole Church; but what is happening here is happening all around us.
+So we go to Jesus, like disciples:
And notice: when the disciples wake Jesus up, they don't have quiet confidence, fearlessness. That's what firm faith brings. Instead they have terror and fear that Jesus is just going to sleep while they drown.
Their prayer comes from fear more than from faith. It seems to express anger at Jesus—"How can you not care that we are going to die? What are you doing, still sleeping?"
When a ship has no captain, or the sailors don't trust the captain and they think the ship is going to sink, all hell breaks loose. Sailors stop working together and letting the captain direct; they all start trying to save the ship as individuals, which is absolutely not going to work, or maybe they try to mutiny and set up a new captain. And when all these things become hopeless, people start grabbing something that floats and taking their chances in the sea. When no one listens to the captain anymore, the ship is doomed.
But Jesus is the captain of the ship of the Church; He will safely bring it through all storms into the eternal calm and peace of eternal life.
When Jesus gets up from sleeping, notice who He speaks to first—not the wind and the waves. Not to the thing the disciples think is the danger.
He speaks to them first, because the danger is not the storm. In our day, the danger is not the declining numbers in the Church, or declining bank accounts, declining prestige in our society.
The danger is within us—unbelief. That instead of Jesus, we trust in what we see and feel, in our own thoughts, in the wisdom of the world and the false religion pushed by the devil and the world.
Unbelief is the danger because it is idolatry: we think the storm is more powerful than God; we fear it more than God. The first commandment: You shall have no other gods—We should fear, love and trust in God above all things. The storm is more powerful than God, and we know better than God's Word what is necessary to save ourselves or the Church.
So Jesus speaks first to the disciples, rebuking the storm in their hearts, the storm of unbelief and the cowardice that comes from it.
Why are you so cowardly, you of little faith?
Jesus understands why they are afraid. What He is telling them and us is that we don't have anything to fear. Not if we have Him.
+Really? We have nothing to fear? Nothing. How can you say that, if the boat is about to sink and the disciples are going to perish?
Because Jesus rebukes the winds and the sea and there was a great calm. Not only does Jesus know how to steer the ship safely. He simply speaks and nature obeys. Who does that?
The answer is, only God does that. God was with the disciples in the boat, living with them, sharing their bread, sharing their storms, sharing their sins.
The prophet Jonah brought a great calm when he was thrown into the sea. The storm came because of Jonah's rebellion against God, when Jonah ran away from the presence of God. It went away when the sailors handed over Jonah to certain death.
But God rescued Jonah from his rebellion and its punishment; from certain death, sending the fish, who vomited him onto dry land.
Jesus also brought great calm that lasts forever; He took on our rebellion against God as His own; He willingly was thrown into the boiling, angry flood of God's wrath, making our sins His own and being nailed to the cross. Then He stepped out of the belly of death into the land of the living, having put our sins away forever. Now there is a great calm; peace with God.
That great peace comes rolling across the storms of this world to us from the eternal God in our flesh; not a temporary calm, like the one in Matthew 8, but an eternal one.
Jesus is the captain of the ship of the Church. He can be trusted to lead us safely through the storms of death and hell, because He has already gone through them and destroyed them.
Jesus will not fail to bring His church safely to land.
His Church includes the weak in faith.
But those who reject Jesus' word are not Jesus' Church; they are not in the boat where He is. They are mixed with the saints around the Word, but they don't believe in Him. When storms come, they mutiny against Jesus, don't listen to His Word. They try to take over the boat from Him, or jump overboard because they think it's doomed.
Brothers, we are weak; we do this in spite of ourselves. But let us be comforted and listen to Jesus. He is worthy to be trusted. He isn't a fool or a con artist. He tells us, "You have me in the boat in my preaching, in my pure doctrine, and my Sacraments. Hold on to me; you have nothing to fear."
We have many sins, but He doesn't cast away sinners who trust in Him, the Savior of sinners, the sin-bearer.
He will not let the floods overwhelm us or let His Church sink. Our traditions will perish, our will that contradicts the will of God will not be done. But Christ's Church is more than that—it is the whole company of saints throughout the world, through time and eternity, who cling to Jesus alone.
It will never perish, and neither will those who trust Him. He cannot perish; He died, and He lives forevermore. And we who are baptized into Him have been joined with Him who joined Himself to us—we also have died and risen. The new creation that will appear on the last day has already begun in all who believe.
Thanksgiving for the Lord's Discipline. Thanksgiving Day 2016. Deuteronomy 8:1-10
Thanksgiving Day
St. Peter Lutheran Church
Deuteronomy 8:1-10 (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
November 24, 2016
"Thanksgiving for the Lord's Discipline"
Iesu Iuva
Setting apart a day to give thanks to God has a long history in America. The Pilgrims didn't invent it. The French and Spanish explorers are said to have had their own "thanksgivings" to give thanks to God for allowing them to arrive safely in the new world. A group of English settlers in Virginia wrote a constitution for their colony in 1619 that said "that the day of our ships arrival … in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God." Both Catholics and Protestants set aside days of Thanksgiving because they recognized, or wanted people to recognize, that they didn't get to America safely or accomplish anything here on their own. God enabled them and allowed them. Without His favor they would have died on the voyage, and without His favor they would not be able to succeed in anything once they arrived. So together, as a society, they gave thanks to God, recognizing His hand in the events of their lives, and thanking Him for the good He allowed them to receive in spite of their many sins against Him.
We aren't like this anymore in America. We don't recognize God's hand in the things that happen to us as a nation. And imagine the President or Congress announcing a national day of thanksgiving, or a national day of supplication and prayer, in response to some great blessing received or tragedy experienced by the nation, announcing that schools and businesses and the stock exchange would be closed so that the nation might turn to God for a day!
Things are not much better in the Church among Christians. If we announced a special service of thanksgiving in response to a special blessing of God on a day that people are not accustomed to coming to church, I know very well what would happen. Even, say, if someone wrote a check to St. Peter for several hundred thousand dollars, covering the whole cost of our roof repairs. This is an indication that for many people worship is not the spontaneous, living response of their hearts to God's love and gifts; for many people it is a formality, doing what they think is required and no more. Worship is on Sunday, period.
But God does not stop being our God at noon on Sundays. He doesn't stop giving us gifts then or providing for our needs of body and soul. Every day He lets His sun shine on the just and the wicked alike. I believe that God has made me and all creatures, that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them [or preserves them] Luther's Catechism teaches us to say. And it goes on to remind us of all the gifts He gives us, day in and day out, whether we please Him or not: He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.
Yes, as we sing in the communion liturgy each week, "It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, Holy Lord, Almighty Father, Everlasting God, through Jesus Christ our Lord." It's only right that we should recognize that God has given us our life and existence, and that He constantly provides for our lives to be sustained, whether we do good or evil. And recognizing this, it's right that we should give thanks from our hearts to Him at all times. And when He shows us special kindness as a church or as a nation, it is right that we should publicly thank Him in the Church with a special service of thanksgiving.
This has immediate practical importance for your lives as individuals, this issue of recognizing God's hand in your life and thanking Him. Because if we do not recognize God as the giver of the good things in our lives and give Him thanks—the things that we need and the people and things we love—we will not be able to recognize Him as the giver of the things that seem evil to us. When we get sick and when we suffer in various ways, we will feel ourselves abandoned or cursed by God, because we have not learned to recognize Him and His hand in all that we experience in life.
Consider the reading from the Old Testament, Deuteronomy chapter 8. You would think that the people of Israel would have no difficulty understanding that God was intimately involved with what happened to them. He had, after all, sent ten plagues on the Egyptians to make Pharaoh let them go; led them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night in the wilderness; parted the Red Sea to bring Israel through in safety and then drowned Pharaoh and his mighty army. He had fed them with bread from heaven in the desert. He had come down on Mt. Sinai in fire and spoke the Ten Commandments to them. He had entered into a covenant with them there that they would be His people and He would be there God.
And yet they did not recognize that God was among them and leading them. At the beginning of their exodus, right after coming through the Red Sea, they went a few days without water and began to say, "Is the Lord among us or not?" (Ex. 17:7) Then Moses struck a rock with his staff, and water came out for the whole congregation of 3 million. But after 40 years in the wilderness they had still not learned to recognize God's presence among them and how He was providing for them and teaching Him the whole way. So Moses explains to them, not long before his death: You shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord…Know then, that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. Deut. 8:2-3, 5
The Israelites did not understand the reason why they experienced the things they did, why after God gloriously led them out of Egypt, He allowed them to wander in circles in the desert for 40 years. Maybe many of them began to think that God's promise that He loved them and had chosen them to be His own people out of all the nations on the earth was just religious talk that doesn't actually have any significance in real life, because they seemed like they were going nowhere, and the promised land seemed a long way away.
But Moses explained that no, God did have a reason for their wandering in circles. As a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. A man disciplines his son because he loves his son. Kids with strict parents look at other kids whose parents let them do whatever they want and think those kids have it better. But as adults we understand that parents who let their kids do whatever they want on the internet without paying attention, who let their kids run around as teenagers without paying attention to what they're doing are parents who don't love their kids very much. Parents who love their kids allow their kids freedom when their kids have proven that they can handle the freedom without ruining themselves. They "test" their kids "to know what is in [their] hearts."
This is why God led the Israelites in circles in the desert forty years, why He humbled them so that they had to rely on God to drop bread down from heaven if they were going to eat. He didn't allow them much freedom at all, did He? It was to discipline them so that they worshipped Him—that is, so that they believed in Him, so that they trusted Him, so that they learned faith in Him. Then when they entered the promised land and suddenly had houses that other people built, and rich farmland that other people cultivated, they would not turn away from Him and think they had gotten all this for themselves, or worship the idols of the people who lived there before them. They would remember the Lord who brought them out of slavery and give Him thanks for the good land that He had given them.
Another amazing thing is hidden in that sentence: Know then in your heart, that, as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. It's easy to focus on the word "discipline" and think of a dad in the old days taking his son behind the woodshed with a switch or something. But that is not the key word: the key word is "son." I don't think anywhere before the exodus of the people of Israel did God call any human being his "son," not even Abraham or Noah or Enoch, who walked with God. But here Moses tells the people of Israel that God has been treating them like His Son. A man disciplines his son not only because he loves him but because the son is going to inherit everything that belongs to his father, and he needs to learn to be wise so that he will be capable of managing his inheritance instead of destroying it and himself. God is dealing with Israel, rebellious Israel, idol-worshipping Israel, as His own son, whom he is preparing to inherit everything that is His.
This would have little meaning for us as Gentiles, as non-Israelites. Our ancestors worshipped idols, and God did not discipline them and deal with them as His sons. But long ago someone came to them and taught them about Jesus and proclaimed Him as the Son of God. And our believing ancestors taught their children about Him until it came down to us.
We learned that Jesus, the Son of God from eternity, through whom God the Father created and preserves the world, became the son of Adam, one of us. He lived among us so that we might see in Him the exact image of God the Father. And being our brother, He died for our sins, was raised from the dead, and ascended with our human nature to the throne of God. Through His suffering the wrath of God for our sins, He caused human beings to be adopted by God as sons; and He received the inheritance of eternal glory in human flesh as a pledge of what is to come for all who believe in Him.
Because of Him, you have a certain pledge from God about what His heart is toward you and what He is doing in the events of your life.
They are not random, meaningless events, like the Israelites were tempted to think. God is dealing with you as sons. He is dealing with you like a father who loves his son and who wants to prepare him to inherit all that is his.
A father loves his son, so he provides for him; he gives him food, shelter, clothes, and defends him from danger. At the same time, because he loves his son, he also tests him and disciplines him. He humbles him so that he learns to be faithful and obedient when he is not entrusted with much freedom. He schools him so that when he grows to be a man and inherits his father's house, he will not squander it and ruin himself.
Many of you are dealing with personal suffering that is hard to see as God's love. You are sick or have constant pain. It may be that the doctor has told you you have a limited amount of time left on earth. Others are suffering from seeing their children or relatives in conflict or unforgiveness, or having abandoned God.
We grieve over what our nation has become, many of us, since many of our people have forgotten right and wrong, forgotten what is decent and good. Most have also forgotten God and seem to be past repentance.
And then for many of us there is the grief at the state of the church—especially our own congregation, but also the Christian church more generally in our country….
How can we give thanks?
God has not stopped being kind, gracious, and merciful. See how freely Jesus heals the lepers of their diseases, even though 9 out of 10 are unthankful. He continues to provide us with wealth, peace, safety.
But when we suffer He is dealing with us as sons. See how His only begotten Son was chastened with the lash for your sins, how He hung on the cross, suspended by nails in His hands and feet, crowned with a curse, abandoned by God. Did the Father love Jesus? He did. Yet Jesus, though He was a son, was made perfect through suffering.
God is dealing with you as sons, preparing you to inherit glory with Jesus.
Do not lose heart. Go against your heart and praise Him "at all times and in all places." Recognize His love not only in your daily bread, in the turkey on the table and the family gathered around it, but also in your afflictions.
Letting Jesus In, Letting Jesus Out. Trinity 22, 2016 Revelation 3:14-22
Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity
St. Peter Lutheran Church
Revelation 3:14-22
October 23, 2016
"Letting Jesus In; Letting Jesus Out—Witnessing"
Iesu Iuva
Lutherans are not known for being fanatical. No one faints from emotion in our Divine Services like they sometimes do in worship in other churches. We aren't known for looking for every opportunity to turn conversations toward spiritual matters or for peppering our speech with "God-talk."
As a result, we may get the impression that as Lutherans we believe in moderation in spiritual matters or religion. Yes, we believe that Jesus is our Savior. But everything has its place. We shouldn't get too carried away with religion and end up making a spectacle of ourselves.
But that conclusion would be a mistake. Emotional excesses in worship can be bad; it can also be bad to be preachy and act hyper-spiritual in your daily life. Martin Luther criticized the "fanatics" or "enthusiasts" of his day for these things. But Divine Service in his church in Wittenberg was not an emotionless formality, even though the congregation was made up entirely of normally stoic Germans.
An example of this: toward the end of his life, Luther was distributing the blood of Christ at Holy Communion. He was old, and his hands shook. As a result of his trembling, he spilled some of the precious blood on the stone floor near the altar. The person who wrote down the story said that Luther's eyes filled with tears at the dishonor he had inadvertently done to the Lord's blood, and he said, "O Lord Jesus, help!" Then he got down on his old hands and knees and sucked the consecrated blood of Christ from the stone floor, lest someone step on it. And the congregation, instead of laughing or being disgusted at Luther's piety toward the consecrated wine of the Lord's Supper, toward the blood of Jesus, broke into sobs, seeing the old reformer do this.
Quite a bit of emotion, quite a visible display of zeal in practice for something Luther had taught people so zealously—that the Sacrament of the Altar is "the true body and blood of Christ, under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself for us Christians to eat and to drink."
Lutherans are, or should be, against making laws about the proper amount of emotion or the proper amount a Christian should display his faith in Christ in public. A person may have true, living faith in Jesus and yet not talk about it a lot in public or display a lot of emotion at church. Some of that has to do with a person's temperament, some of it with the strength of his or her faith. Some of it has to do with the fact that genuine faith is not a matter of outward display.
We make those allowances, yet we should never make the mistake of thinking that moderation in Christianity is good or even possible for a genuine Christian. A Christian cannot be "lukewarm", as the Lord tells the church in Laodicea that they are. A Christian cannot be "neither cold nor hot." And a church that has become "neither cold nor hot" is one in which the cold and dead members have mixed to such a degree with the living, believing members that the entire church has become nauseating to the risen Lord Jesus. "So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit (or vomit) you out of my mouth." (Rev. 3:16)
Why does lack of zeal, "moderate Christianity", "reasonable Christianity", lukewarmness make Jesus sick? We forget that Jesus Himself was not "moderate." He was (and is), we might say, a zealot, a radical. Yes, He is amazingly gentle and patient with the weak, the sinful, and the fallen, so that He didn't speak a harsh word to those crushed and overwhelmed by their sins, cast off by their society as "deplorable" and "irredeemable." Yet His graciousness toward sinners was never grace toward sin itself. He "gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works" (Titus 2:14). He was so committed, so passionate in His hatred of sin that He gave His life not only to forgive and cover sin but also to remove and destroy it. He was so passionate in His opposition to false and hypocritical worship that He went into the temple and threw down the tables of the money changers. He was so zealous in opposing the false teaching of the Pharisees, scribes, and chief priests that He continued to preach and teach the Gospel of grace in opposition to them, and to denounce them, until they connived to have Him crucified. Jesus was and is not cool and moderate. He is fiery. His feet gleam like gold coming out of a fire. His face shines like the sun. His eyes are like flames. He is hot and burning with love for His Father and for you.
Because He burns with charity He is infinitely gentle with the weak, but He is nauseated by lukewarmness. When people and churches claim to be Christian but are moderate and reasonable in their love for God, His good news of grace, and for other sinners, when they are lukewarm, self-satisfied, content, and unwilling to do anything that might risk their comfort, it makes our Lord ill. He can't stand it. He will spit such Christianity, such so-called "Christians", such churches out of His mouth. That, says the Lord of the Church to the congregation is Laodicea, is the kind of church you are.
How did the church in Laodicea become this way—lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, disgusting to its Lord? He tells them: You say, I am rich, I have prospered, I need nothing…(Rev. 3:17) The church in Laodicea had become wealthy and prosperous in earthly goods. But this wasn't the cause of their lukewarmness. They were lukewarm because they were not "rich toward God" (Luke 12:21). They foolishly believed that since they had earthly wealth they "lacked nothing." We can draw this conclusion as well—their wealth indicated that the church in Laodicea had not had to endure the persecution we saw in the other churches. Persecuted Christians are typically denied the opportunities available to the rest of society. High positions are often denied them.
It may also be that the church in Laodicea had made a practice of compromising with the pagan world around them. Back a few generations ago lots of people belonged to secret societies like the Freemasons or the other lodges, but it was forbidden in the Missouri Synod, because the members of those societies took part in religious rites and confessions of faith that were contrary to the confession of faith they made as members of the Lutheran Church. Today people are often offended by the practice of "closed communion" which is the practice and teaching of the Missouri Synod. By practicing "closed communion" we are saying that communing at a church is tied to confessing faith in that church's teaching. As a result those who believe another doctrine, or who are in fellowship with those who teach another doctrine, should not commune at LCMS altars, nor should those who confess our doctrine commune at a church with another doctrine. That teaching offends people today; but for a century and a few decades, the LCMS' teaching about lodge membership was an offensive teaching to many (even inside the LCMS).
People typically belonged to lodges or to the Masons—at least, this is what most people said—for the sake of business. Lodge members helped each other out and sent business one another's way. Not being a member of a lodge could hurt people financially. It was this way for people in the early church too. If you wouldn't step foot in the temple of an idol or burn incense to Caesar, it could hurt your business opportunities. Yet the church in Laodicea was prosperous. It's quite possible they had become this way by compromising their witness to Christ by engaging in the worship of idols, or giving the appearance of this being possible for a faithful Christian.
The church in Laodicea put its trust in its earthly wealth and in the freedom from persecution it had experienced. Since it had those things, it didn't think it needed anything else. It became a church where Jesus was left outside in the cold, knocking on the door to be let in. But the Laodiceans wouldn't let Jesus in. Jesus was sure to take away their prosperity and their seeming peace and security. He would bring with Him white robes to put on—His innocence and righteousness before God. But He would also rub eye salve on their eyes and make them see that they were really wretched, pitiful, impoverished, and naked before God. And He would bring gold refined in the fire—that is, faith in Him instead of in earthly prosperity and security, and the fire of persecution, of suffering and trial that purifies our faith in Christ. That true gold from Jesus very probably would mean the loss of the perishable gold that they had come to trust in and see as a sign that God was pleased with them.
The churches in the nations that have had Christianity for centuries have a lot in common with the church in Laodicea. Christianity was the dominant religion in Europe for almost 2000 years in the south, and by about 1000 A.D. it had travelled to the northernmost reaches of Europe. From there it spread to every continent that Europeans colonized or settled. And for most of that time the churches did not experience persecution in an overt way. There was persecution of faithful Christians, but it was always by others who also claimed to be Christians; in Europe and America no one persecuted the church with the open admission that it was Christianity they were attacking. Only in the French Revolution in 1789 did we see the first explicit persecution of Christians by non-Christians. It happened again in Russia and other places where communism took hold. But in America the church has never experienced that. On the contrary, up until recently the churches experienced peace. They were large and prosperous, and its members became wealthy.
And as a result many people came to expect earthly peace and prosperity. They saw full pews not with suspicion, as a sign perhaps that the church had compromised with the world, but as a sign of the church's success, perhaps even of its godliness. They became content.
And now that the pews are emptying in many churches, and the heat is being turned on by forces that oppose Christianity's formerly dominant position in our country, we see many churches and Christians scrambling to find ways to fill the pews up again, to regain our former position of cultural dominance.
Why? Because the churches have come to trust in earthly peace, freedom from persecution, and earthly prosperity. They think that when they have those things "they need nothing," but if those things are gone, they have lost everything.
But a church that trusts in earthly peace and prosperity is a church that leaves Jesus outside in the cold, knocking to be let in. A church like this can't witness to Jesus. Their witness will not be faithful and true (Rev. 3:14); they may preach and talk about Jesus, who was crucified. But if their trust is in the earthly peace and security that comes from large numbers and cultural dominance, when the fire and heat of persecution comes to purify them, they will cast Jesus aside. Witness to Jesus means faithfully teaching His Word, but it also includes the witness of suffering for that Word. That is the way the devil is conquered, just as Jesus conquered Satan not by gaining the whole world but giving His life on the cursed, shameful cross.
During this fall series we have heard with our ears "what the Spirit says to the churches." I pray that God also gives us ears to hear with repentance and faith. What does the Spirit say to this church, St. Peter, in the letter to the church in Laodicea?
It is a hard question to face willingly. Are we also "lukewarm, neither hot nor cold", about to be spit out of the mouth of our Lord? And if so, what should we do?
If I say "Yes," how easy it will be simply to get angry at me, and reject my answer as my opinion, not Christ's. How easy it will be also, if you accept the judgment, to simply put your head down like a beaten dog and say, "It's impossible to please God."
But that isn't why Jesus speaks this way to the church in Laodicea. He didn't write them off as hopeless. He came as a petitioner, knocking on the door, calling to them to let them in to His house. He does the same with all churches that have become lukewarm, just as He once called out to Adam when he was hiding in the garden, running away from his Lord because he had sinned and was afraid of the punishment.
Idolizing the earthly prominence we once enjoyed
That prominence was not evil, but we have something better than that—Jesus, who was crucified for us, Jesus, the risen Lord of the church and of the world
That idolizing has kept us from witnessing to Him in a community where we have great opportunity.
Jesus not only knocks on the door to come into the Church, but He wants to go out in us to extend His kingdom through the preaching of the Gospel which He has given to us.
+Let Jesus in
-recognize our sin in clinging to earthly security, peace, prosperity
-desire to bear "faithful and true witness" to Him in our families, to our friends and neighbors, as a church in our community.
–believe the Gospel: His zeal covers our natural lukewarmness; His love our lovelessness; His willingness to suffer for others our self-seeking
–your lukewarmness which you will struggle with till the day you die is covered, cleansed, forgiven
–this repentance and faith is the work of the Holy Spirit alone
–but it has begun where there is the desire to change and be forgiven.
+Let Jesus out
–witnessing to Jesus: two parts. Proclaiming His Word faithfully, and standing fast under the hardship and even persecution that comes because of His Word.
–proclaiming the Word—both law and gospel
Sin and righteousness
–as a church: planning, going into the community and inviting them in. Welcoming those who come.
–Suffering and persecution:
This comes by itself
Enduring it, and continuing to be faithful and true witnesses to Christ, is witnessing embodied, not simply in talk
There we give a picture in our lives of the Christ who suffered to save sinners.
+Jesus comes in to us
This is "dining with Jesus" having fellowship and communion with Him
By faith we cling to Him, are joined with Him. We share His grace and His suffering.
Sharing with Him in suffering is followed by sharing with Him in glory.
May we go out with Him, even if these are the final years of our congregation's life, so that we may rejoice forever in our fellowship with Him.
Soli Deo Gloria
The Church's Lord. Trinity 17 2016. Revelation 1:9-20
17th Sunday after Trinity (First Sunday of Fall Series)
St. Peter Lutheran Church
Revelation 1:9-20
September 18, 2016
"What the Spirit Says to the Churches about the Lord of the Church"
Iesu Iuva
Six things—Divine Service. Scripture. Prayer. Giving. Serving. Witnessing. A person who is growing in faith in Christ through His pure Word also grows in these six things. That's why for the last nine years I've taught about those six things every fall, and urged you to work to grow in them.
And so we can easily evaluate right here this morning, in the quiet of our hearts, whether we can say of ourselves that we have grown in these six things in the past nine years. Whether we have made a serious effort to do so. Not in order to make ourselves feel guilty—or proud—but realizing that whether or not I am growing in faith is a serious thing for which I will one day give an account to God; realizing that our growth or decline in faith and its fruits has consequences not only for ourselves, but for this congregation's health.
Those six things—attending Divine Service, reading Scripture, praying, giving, serving, witnessing—are all gifts from God. And yet a person could easily look at them and think that they are all things that we have to do.
But there is one other thing in the fall series that is not something we do in any respect. It is something we can only receive from God. And without it our efforts to grow in the other six will be in vain. We can only rightly do and grow in them if we first receive this first thing.
That thing is Christ.
That is so basic that it may seem insulting for me to mention Him. Of course we've received Christ! We've been coming to church for decades!
And I'm certainly not disputing that you have received Christ. I'm a Lutheran pastor, not a Baptist. So I preach and believe that when you as a little baby were baptized you received Christ—or He received you.
Yet many people receive Christ and then lose Him again. It's easy for the real Christ to be replaced by a false Christ in the preaching of the Church and even in the hearts of Christians. Again, if I was a Baptist or a Calvinist pastor I would deny that it's possible for a true Christian to ever lose Christ. If you lost Him, they say, you never really had Him to begin with. But Scripture teaches: "As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for awhile, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the Word, immediately he falls away." (Matthew 13:20-21)
Christians are led away to false Christs. In the Catholic Church the Jesus who atoned for our sins with His death and gives us the forgiveness of sins freely, only through faith, is replaced with a Jesus who came to give us a new law to fulfill. But for many Christians the false Jesus that replaces the true one is a "tame" Jesus. It is a Jesus who is gracious and forgives us and may even help us when we die. He makes few demands on us and He is kind. He makes us feel comfortable and peaceful when we are able to get away from all the irritations and stresses we have to deal with in this life. He certainly doesn't do anything that scares us or terrifies us or causes conflict. And people usually divorce this Jesus from the suffering in our lives. He doesn't have anything to do with that, because He loves us and doesn't want us to feel pain.
The problem with this false Jesus is that He is impotent. He comforts you when you die and any time you happen to really feel guilty about your sins. But since He has nothing to do with pain and suffering, when we experience pain and suffering we are, in essence, dealing with something beyond Jesus' control. He doesn't want us to suffer, and yet we do—all of us—and some of us a lot. He never does anything that makes us uncomfortable or afraid, and so—in spite of ourselves—we sometimes get bored with Jesus. We know what He's going to say before we walk in the doors of the church.
This may be a little bit of a caricature, but isn't it at least a partially accurate description of the way people think about Jesus?
That is the problem with idols, though—they are often boring. They're boring because we have them under control. They can't hurt us or scare us. But they can't help us either. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear…feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them. (Psalm 115:4-8) Idols are perfectly safe—but boring. And if we worship an idol we will probably be boring also.
However the safe, tame picture of Jesus that interferes with faith in the real Jesus and that sometimes replaces it is not the Jesus who stands before us in the reading from Revelation. Spiritual health begins with receiving Jesus—the true Jesus. Not just one facet of His character or person isolated from the rest of Him. If we want Jesus, we have to receive also the beautiful yet terrible Christ who appeared to St. John. But this Christ many of us have forgotten. He is not merely the friend of the church, but the church's Lord.
In the reading, St. John is on Patmos, a small island off the coast of modern-day Turkey. He has been imprisoned there for preaching the word of God, bearing witness that Jesus is Lord. And one "Lord's Day", one Sunday, the Holy Spirit comes upon him, and he has a vision. He hears a voice behind him that sounds like a trumpet blast, telling him to write down what he sees in a book and to send it to seven churches on the mainland of modern-day Turkey.
Imagine if someone came up behind you and blew a trumpet, how startling that would be! So when John turns around to "see the voice", he suddenly sees seven golden lampstands, "and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man (Rev. 1:13)." And this person who is "like a son of man" has hair as white as snow, eyes like a flame of fire, feet that gleam like burnished bronze. His voice is like the roar of many waters. He holds seven stars in His right hand. Out of His mouth comes a sharp two-edged sword, and his face is like staring into the sun.
The phrase "son of man" we recognize, because it's what Jesus always called Himself. But the rest is alien to us. We're used to thinking of Jesus' voice as a comforting sound, like the sound of a shepherd's voice is to a sheep—but here it sounds like the roar of an ocean; and the word that comes out of His mouth is not a collection of comforting truths but a weapon of war. His eyes are a flame—suggesting zeal and passion or jealousy and anger. The light that shines from His face is like the sun shining in full strength, threatening to burn our eyes.
We know that people outside the church today have false ideas about who Jesus is. Some people claim that He is a myth, a person who never existed. Others say that He was simply a man who thought He was the Messiah and was proved not to be when He died on a cross. Many others think Jesus was a prophet, a great religious teacher who taught the same thing as all the other so-called great teachers, like Buddha or Muhammad.
But what about us? Haven't we forgotten this side of Jesus? That in Him all the fullness of God dwells bodily (Col. 2)? That He is the first and the last (Rev. 1:17), the Creator of the World, and also the one who will end it—its judge? Have we forgotten the flame of His eyes, His jealousy that hates sin with a passion more hot than any human love? Have we forgotten the power of His voice, roaring like the ocean, that swept the world into being in the beginning and will sweep it away in the end? That His Word, His doctrine, is not a safe, tame philosophy that we can master in a few months or years, but a divine weapon that maims those who handle it clumsily, and that He uses to kill His enemies?
When we are dealing with Jesus, we are dealing with the eternal God in human flesh, to whom all glory belongs, who is coming to judge the living and the dead. He is not a god that we have made and that we can control. He startles John in this reading and causes him to fall down at His feet as though dead. Jesus is the Lord of the world and most especially the Lord of the Church. He doesn't exist to fit into our lives the way that we think He should. The church answers to Him. We exist for Him.
And we have forgotten where the Lord Jesus is. We would expect that when John sees this vision of Jesus' glory that he had been transported to heaven. But Jesus is in the midst of the lampstands (Rev. 1:13). Jesus is in the midst of the churches. He is not somewhere else, far away, in His power and glory. He is here, in the midst of the congregation of people who bear His name.
Which means that His omnipotent power is in the midst of us. Yet so often Christians behave and talk as if Jesus has left us to build the church and govern the church. And when a church becomes weak or is dying we say, "What can we do when the society we live in no longer is interested in church, and nobody wants to come to the neighborhood we're in, and we don't offer the types of programs that attract new people to the church?" The creator of the world stands in the midst of the churches with omnipotent power, and we say, "Yeah, that's nice, but without a better zip code, how can we make it?"
We have forgotten what our Lord has. He says, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive for eternity of eternities, and I have the keys of Death and hell. (Rev. 1:18) He has all of history under His control—He is the first and last. He was there before we existed and He knows how all things will end—for you individually, for this church, for the whole world. For him it is not a question waiting to be answered; it is done, and He knows the ending. He has everlasting life, into endless eternities. Death and destruction have no power over Him. And He also holds the keys to death and hell. He has the power to unlock its prisoners, and the power to keep them bound.
To receive Christ means first of all to receive the Lord of all the earth. But our flesh cannot bear to face Him in His glory. When we see Him, we see the God we have rejected and despised since our childhood. Every time we inwardly groaned at the thought of listening to a sermon or going to Sunday School we were despising Him. Every time we declined to serve in the church or put less than our best into serving the church, we turned our back on the one who spoke to John. Whenever we have neglected to learn and continue to grow in His Word we pushed the Lord of the Church into the background, tried to steal His church and remake it according to human wisdom, as though it was ours.
The first part of receiving Christ is receiving Him as our judge. And to do that is to die, like John fell at his feet as though dead. (Rev. 1: 17)
Only then do we receive Christ as our Savior. Because He comes to those who are dead and lays His right hand on them, the hand of His power, and says, "Do not be afraid." That's what He says to all of us this morning who realize that we have not borne the fruit of those whose faith in Him is growing and increasing. The voice like the roar of many waters tells you not to fear Him; and His right hand of power raises you up to live not by your own strength, but His.
He is the first and the last. Long before you were created He knew you and He knew this church. And He is the One who will bring about the end of your story. The end of our story is in front of His eyes of flame as though it has already happened. Yet He says, Do not be afraid.
It is not the ending we fear or that we deserve; our ending is tied to the end of His story. I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold, I am alive for eternity of eternities, and I have the keys of Death and hell. He is the living One. He is the life, and endless life was in Him before the world began. Yet the living One died. He entered our flesh, our nature. He suffered the curse that had come upon us. The living one died, bearing the penalty of sin; He was forsaken by God. The mighty judge was judged as having committed Adam's sin and all its offspring—all the sins that flowered in His children. Yet behold, He lives for endless eternities; He was stronger than sin and death. He passed through them like a spider's web. And the end that He sees for you, terrified sinner is life to eternity of eternities in Him.
And He doesn't have life merely for Himself. When He died He took the keys to Death and hell. And now the Lord who is in the midst of the lampstands is here to use those keys. He does what no human power could dream of doing. He unlocks the door of Death and hell and lets its prisoners out.
That is what is happening when He sends His messenger, His angel, to say, "I forgive you all your sins in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ." Death and hell is opened, no matter how many times you seem to have gone back to your cell.
It's what happens when the word of Christ is proclaimed. It's not merely that a man is talking. The key of death and hell in the Lord Christ's hand is inserted into the lock of your cell, and the lock clicks open, that you may enter into endless life and freedom—that you may enter into Jesus by faith.
Only when this happens do the other six things—divine service, scripture, prayer, giving, serving, witnessing—become possible. Until then they are just ways that we are trying to escape from the prison of death and hell. But for one set free they are the new life of freedom, an endless life.
Write therefore Jesus tells John. Because I have raised you by my power and freed you from death and hell, bear witness to me. Not to by your own power, to build your own church, bearing witness to me, the Lord of the Church. I build it. I wish to speak to the Church and to the world that I purchased with my blood. Your calling is merely to testify to me with your words and your life.
Soli Deo Gloria


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Risky BusinessVina Sky is working the receptionist desk at the massage parlor and typing some notes about client b
Lexis's MassageThe chance to seduce hot little hollywood actress doesn't come along everyday. Lexi's Diamon
Heads Or TailsNia Nacci and Harmony Wonder, two cheerleaders, and friends are exhausted after an intensive cheerle
Wet Backyard SexAlexis Tae teases her boyfriend as she dances in the backyard. While posing on their massage bed she
Embracing Her SexualityRion King and Bunny Colby, a couple, are sitting in a massage parlor lobby together. They look a lit
Wet Pool TeaseSexbomb Amia Miley teases her boyfriend Johnny as she plays in the pool. Johnny tries to stay cool w
Young Asian gets oily MassageTight Asian beauty Alina Li is getting her scheduled massage. Her new masseuse gets her all oiled u
Completely DrenchedJanice Griffith drenches herself with oil while messaging her clit with a black magic wand. That was
Sisterly RivalryGianna Gem looks nervous but excited as she enters a massage parlor for a job interview, greeting Mi
Orgasmic Oily MassageMegan Marx is having a massage to get some tension off. Her masseur was highly suggested by Megan
Young Man's Wet DreamJuan always heard from his buddies that the new massage parlor offers the best services in town, so
Matchmaker MasseuseZac Wild and Bethany Benz, two old friends, see each other for the first time in years at a massage
Eliza Ibarra and her friend, Aidra Fox, are hanging out together. Eliza invited Aidra over to keep h
Teanna gets naked for her FREE massage
Hot brunette babes Lilu Moon and Tina Kay oil up each other's naked bodies. These hot babes plea
Nuru masseuse Kendra Lust is an expert at her craft, rubbing her big, oiled up tits up and down clie
Whitney Wright leads her girlfriend, Eliza Ibarra, to her bed and they sit down. The girlfriends sit
Mia's Special MassageCute 18 year old Mia Malkova seduced and fucked hard after her free massage!
Up, Close and PersonalWhen busty latina Shay Evans returns from a hard day modeling, a massage it necessary to take off th
Riley Reed is in for a huge surprise today. Her friend, Carter Cruise is training to become a masseu
Silvia Saige walks into her living room to ask her stepdaughter Joseline Kelly what she's up to. Sil
Avi Love stumbles into the massage parlor. It's clear from her face that she's in pain. When the mas
Darcia Lee gives an oily tease to her boyfriend who returns the favor with a full body cock massage
Riley Reid is having her scheduled massage, but her new masseur has more than just the regular progr
Tyler Nixon is lying back on the couch, killing time on his cell phone, when the doorbell rings. He
Erotic Massage - S27:E22Tiffany Tatum has set the scene for seduction with a massage table and lit candles to create ambianc
Justin Hunt shows up to the massage parlor not expecting to be told that he's going to be massaged b
Eliza Ibarra is at the spa waiting for a friend to finish up her massage. As she waits, she reads th
Tall model Charity Crawford was lubing up besides the pool when J-Mac walked in the horny teen. He o
Darcie Dolce walks into the room wearing a see-through dress. She looks incredible in it. She sits d
Scarlett Sage gets undressed as Zoey Monroe lays naked on her massage table. She takes off her robe
Jordi and his girlfriend are looking to relax, but massage therapist Eva has other plans for the you
London River and her stepdaughter, Katya Rodriguez, just finished cleaning the kitchen and are talki
Carter Cruise and her stepmom, Cherie DeVille, are at the gym pumping some iron. Rooting each other
Tommy Gunn is a little early for his appointment. When the manager greets him at the door, Tommy ask
Xander Corvus is doing his first gig as a professional masseuse. He doesn't want to think with his d
Chloe Cherry enters the shower and starts lathering herself up. The water hits her tight little body
It's Darcie Dolce's day to relax, so she's paying a visit to nuru masseuse Ayumi Anime.
Nora has heard from her best friends about the new massage parlor in their neighborhood and the exce
Megan Rain drinks an ice cold glass of water, and then another, while she looks for a hot yoga class
Seth Gamble is not having the best day. He's overworked and really needs to unwind. A massage might
Amia came in today for a massage, but no one was around, except for Catie. Catie is eager to help th
Carolina Sweets is tanning the backyard. She pours oil over her tight young body, playing with her n
Kalina is just cleaning up after a long day of giving Nuru Massages but one thing catches her eye.
T. Stone decides to go for a sensual NURU massage at the spa, but it's his second time around,
Therapist Nickey Huntsman waits nervously to massage her all time crush sexy Aidra Fox. Aidra undres
Uma Jolie is so excited for her date with with an older grad student but is so nervous she won't kno
With exams coming up quickly, Chloe Amour and her step cousin Jenna Sativa are busy studying, but Ch
Newly married client Cadey Mercury is shy and conservative. She doesn't want to get fully undressed
In hopes of relieving her shoulder pain, beautiful California girl Jessa Rhodes comes to the spa to


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Thursday, February 9, 2012
Thin Is In ~ Except in Hair
15 comments:
In the past couple of years I have had some prescription drug interaction related "thinning hair" issues. I distinctly remember changing my blood pressure pills and having a reaction. So I switched medicine and it seemed to help.ReplyDelete
Before switching meds though, I tried Biotin which probably helped ... but I take so many doctor ordered pills and supplements every day that I just could not bring myself to take one more non-essential.
I have noticed more hairs in my hairbrush again since the docs changed around some of my medicines ... so now I have different "interaction" going on but am clueless what is reacting to what.
I probably need a cool hat.Replies
Linda, cool hats are a good thing, but I guess we'd all like our hair to be full and healthy, too. I don't have gobs of hair coming out daily, this has been going on for years. Just thin hair. I am trying biotin and will see how it goes.Delete
Thanks for your input! I am taking every comment to heart!
Hugs, GraceinAZ
I need a good multi vitamin. I think I will buy one today.ReplyDelete
My hair seemed to have been falling out by the handfuls. I've always had very thick hair but not anymore. My hairdresser suggested I try a product called Nioxin, available at Walmart's in store hair salon. I bought the shampoo, conditioner and scalp treatment for color treated hair and after only 1 month I have seen a difference. The amount of hair in my comb & brush has lessened and there is less that I'm picking off my clothes.ReplyDeleteReplies
Pat, so good of you to comment on my blog! How's your Relay doing? I will remember this product - I am trying biotin first and if it doesn't help, I'll try another product. Who ever thought we'd be having to be concerned with such things!Delete
Hugs, GraceinAZ (Pat)
Both my medical dr. and dermatologist refute the claim that biotin grows new hair. It does not. What it does is make whatever existing hair stronger. It also cause your nails to grow. I thought I was growing "new fuzzy hair" and it was just a new section of the hairline receding!!! Both dr.'s told me to use Rogaine for Women. There is another one on the market called Visical (sp?) Biotin won't hurt you, but it is not all it is cracked up to be. I've been taking it for 7 years already. xoReplyDelete
just a noteReplyDelete
to let you know
that i'm now following you
via Linky Followers
and i hope you'll return
the favor!
Pat, Thanks for posting my texting diatribe.ReplyDelete
I haven't had trouble with thinning hair but a cow has licked me in several inconvenient areas of my head. LOL.
I wonder how many will know what I mean?
Hugs, GingerReplies
Ginger, it is an important message that can't be stressed often enough! Glad to hear Robby was able to go to work. I hope the Dr gives him a good report! (I have a Rob, too!)Delete
Hugs, GraceinAZ (Pat)
P.S. I know what a cow - lick is! LOL! Good one!
Love this Ginger! I have cow licks too! Hugs and blessings, CindyDelete
I feel so blessed. I have a head full of thick course hair. Though I have to have hair cuts OFTEN I never complain cause I know one day that will not be the case! Hugs and blessings, CindyReplyDelete


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What is the sum of all the digits in all the integers from one to
one million?
Take any four digit number. Move the first digit to the end and move the rest along. Now add your two numbers. Did you get a multiple of 11?
Find the values of the nine letters in the sum: FOOT + BALL = GAME


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I grabbed a boat for a couple hours this afternoon to get a different perspective on the windsurfers at Crissy Field. Instead of shooting from shore as I do most often, I headed outside of the Golden Gate to get a view back toward Crissy Field and the City. It's not often that all the factors line up – wind, swell, sun, boat, sailors. Today was one of those days.
While most of the sailors stayed farther downwind, there were a few brave sailors that were riding the waves at Fort Point or outside The Gate.
Here's a shot of Wyatt Miller navigating the big swell and big traffic and one of him mid-trick. Click on the photos below or on this link to see all the windsurfing photos.
Back closer to the beach, there was still more traffic to contend with. Drifting through the buzz of windsurfers was a bit like standing in the middle of the freeway during rush hour, non-stop action.


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Oakwood Cemetery is located near the Lansingburgh area of northern Troy, New York, east of Cohoes and northeast of Albany, the capital of New York State.
Oakwood has three entrance gates.
The main entrance to the cemetery and the Earl Chapel is from Oakwood Avenue, Rt. 40. The Cemetery Office at the Lower Gate House is at the bottom of the hill, at the east end of 101st Street. The office can be reached either by entering the cemetery at the 101st gate or coming down the hill from the upper level.
NOTE: If you are using mapping software to find the Chapel and main part of the cemetery, use "186 Oakwood Avenue" Do not put in "50 101st Street".
Route 40 (Oakwood Ave.) intersects with Route 142 to the north and Route 7 to the south, near the center of Troy. Route 7 in Troy is also called Hoosick Street. Interstate 787 has an exit to Troy at Route 7. (Don't be confused, because Route 7 in New York State becomes Route 9 at the Vermont border).
From Hoosick Street, turn north on Route 40. Go past St. Mary's Hospital and Frear Park. Within a half mile you will see on your left the entrance to Oakwood Cemetery. The Oakwood Avenue gate is open 8:30 am – 7:00 pm, 365 days a year.