With a few exception, most people seem to realize that they have done wrong. People may not agree with each other about what constitutes sin, but they often know that they have done things that they themselves believe to be wrong. It would not be difficult to convince the average guy or girl that they are wrong doers or even sinners. Usually we are not short on guilt of one kind or another. What seems to be the most difficult for Christian leaders is to convince people that God forgives. It is almost as if they say in their minds “I wouldn’t forgive someone who did what I did.” Perhaps at heart it is that we find it difficult to forgive ourselves. On one level it is as if we said “I know better than you do, God. You shouldn’t be so forgiving.” It is exactly Jonah’s complaint about God forgiving Ninevah. If we admit that God is that kind of forgiving being then we might feel compelled to forgive those we would just as soon not forgive. There is a certain satisfaction in believing, “Well at least, I’m not as bad as that other person.” It sounds a sour note when we examine our own short comings. Forgiveness from God must be a universal offering or we might fear finding ourselves among the unforgiven. That God could forgive those who do not deserve it seems wrong until we consider ourselves and then we want to shout, “God have mercy on me.” We in the Christian faith take sin and wrong doing both public and private as a serious matter, but we take grace, mercy, and forgiveness as serious matters as well. For ourselves and others we pray “Lord have mercy!”
02/06/2022
A recent survey estimates that nearly 80% of our population in a ten minute driving time of the church has some kind of internet service with almost 20% not having internet access. This is a massive change over the years where an even a higher percentage have computers. Cell phones (themselves mini computers) are even more common. This has changed the way we communicate, the way we advertise and the way we get our message out. Newspaper subscriptions have fallen greatly with advertising moving increasingly to digital media. A significant question is how will we use this change for the sake of the gospel? Changes in the past in transportation and communication have been utilized to get out the gospel message. Radio and TV have substantial religious presence today which developed over the years. One of the accidental blessings of the COVID pandemic is that we learned to use electronic media to share services and link us together when we could not use our regular service outlets. Local congregations found ways to put our church worship services on line. Sometimes we were surprised when people joined us from far away. We do not yet know all the ways that the digital world might be useful to the church and her mission for Christ and the gospel. Creative thinking and experimental attempts may lead us in ways we did not anticipate. Some seminaries now hold classes electronically in different parts of the world at the same time. They have created virtual unified classrooms when students from different countries can learn together. Who knows what could happen in local churches. We may be at the beginning of a joining of local and digital congregations. We in the church have found new ways before. Let’s find those new ways again.
01/30/2022
Recently we went with friends to a showing of Harriet a novelized film about Harriet Tubman. It was not a documentary but rather a feature film. As you probably know Harriet Tubman was an escaped slave who became a conductor on the under ground railroad freeing scores of slaves from their bandage toward a life of freedom in the northern free states. The story approach gave a stronger feeling of her life and work than might have happened in a documentary. It was notable that while the film demonstrated the horror of slavery, it did so without using graphic and excessively violent images. It is sometimes easy to lose the point of a film when we are overwhelmed by visual images of such intensity that they nearly block out rational thought. The religious themes of the film were handled with sensitivity rather than sentimentality. The emotional impact was heightened by the less intense approach. It was fascinating to see how the songs the slaves sang became a code to share with each other in ways that the masters did not see. Tubman’s courage, resourcefulness, and passion were on full display. She was known among the slaves as Moses, a protective code name with the obvious parallels to the Israelites bondage in Egypt and Moses as liberator. One of the most memorable lines in the movie has Harriet Tubman having her former slave owner at disadvantage when she says “God doesn’t want people to own other people.” Harriet is a thoughtful and through provoking film worthy of consideration.
01/23/2022
During the Christmas season things are so busy that while I look at all the cards that come from friends, they go by pretty fast. At this point in January I like to get them out and read them again. The pictures are so beautiful and the sentiments so often meaningful. I enjoy the short attached notes and see in my mind the faces behind the signatures. I especially enjoy the Christmas letters. It is a chance to catch up on the extended family of people I like. Even though they are generally not prayer requests, they often become that in my mind. It gives me a chance to name in my prayers people I rarely or perhaps never get to see in person. I have known people who have made sending cards a ministry. In our instant message online world, letters and cards are becoming increasingly rare. An elderly person of my acquaintance saves her Christmas cards and devotes a week to each card and showers it with prayers and sometimes notes throughout the year. It seems like an excellent idea, but so far I just use January for such reflection. I do have other cards that I have saved especially from loved ones. I don’t have a specific plan for remembering them, but when I run across them in my things they provide a warm and almost living memory. There is so much in scripture about remembering both for human kinds and for God. In Exodus 2 we read “The Israelites groaned under their slavery and cried out. Out of their slavery their cry for help rose up to God. God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God looked upon the Israelites and God took notice of them.” Great possibilities happen when we remember God and each other, and even greater possibilities when God remembers us.
01/16/2022
When our older daughter was in Brownies as a part of Girls Guides in Scotland (Girl Scouts in the USA), each girl had a small leather purse on the belt of their uniform. They were required to have 20 pence for a telephone emergency call and a handkerchief in the pouch along with other emergency items. Now day, finding a pay phone anywhere, even in Scotland, is very unlikely. Handkerchief is not as common as it once was. A packet of tissues seems more sanitary and easy to throw away. I still carry a hanky most of the time and it can be a useful pocket piece adaptable for multiple uses. Many men used to carry a small pocket knife. Safety check points and metal detectors have made that a less common practice. A wallet, keys, and a cell phone seem basic pocket gear. I’m not sure what the brownies do recommend for wee girls in Scotland. Contracting diabetes as many have, mean we have more gear to carry. Women solve this with a purse, but men generally settle for stuffed pockets. A “man bag”, however functional often results in merciless teasing. I am considering the Batman solution of a utility belt, but I’m still concerned about how ridiculous I might look. “Varity of varieties, all is vanity.” So I will probably continue to stuff my pockets and hope for the best. How did good practical advice for young Scottish girls evolve into such complicated adult practices? No doubt we are even more self- conscious of our appearance to others than even children are. I wonder if we will ever fully let practicality outweigh appearance. Jesus only had one coat although the description that it was woven without a seam, indicates that it was a good one. Perhaps it was both practical and attractive. We could count this a win-win for Jesus. Practical and attractive sound good for us all.
01/09/2022
Recently a family trio, a sister and two brothers, won the Voice music competition. They perform under the name, A Girl Named Tom, a nickname given the younger sister. There was some degree of controversy with some feeling that there were more talented singers than the trio. Opinions can vary with taste, but what was notable with the trio was their flawless harmony. Family members and especially siblings often blend beautifully. Siblings grow up hearing words pronounced the same and know each others’ voices. This can make for close harmony and blend of the voices. A well - known gospel music writer of my acquaintance speculated that harmony has a spiritual component. Was there music and harmony at the beginning of creation?, he wondered. We do talk about the importance of living in harmony with each other. We are speaking of more than music when we say that, but musical harmony can serve as an appropriate metaphor for harmony more generally understood. One does not have to be a master musician to notice the discord of an out-of-tune piano. Being in harmony with others and with God is pleasant and even life giving. Out of harmony always strikes a bad chord. So the Psalmist intoned “how good and perfect it is for brothers to dwell together in unity”. It is hard to sing “I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God,” if there is a church fight going on. When there is true harmony among the sisters and brothers we can sing “I love thy church, O God.“ Harmony can bring freedom, fellowship, friendship and even joy. Let’s live in harmony and sing the song we were meant to sing.
01/02/2022
New Year’s Day is a lot like a birthday. Nothing has changed from the day before in actuality, but there is great symbolic value. Short of remembering the new date on a check or deposit, and right dating on a letter there is little change in the day to day function, but it feels like there is a difference. We say things like “I’m a year older,” when actually it is only one day. Perhaps for both birthdays and New Year’s Day it is that we hope for a better future. After the last two years, that feels like a necessary hope. Hope is a real benefit. With hope in us we can survive whatever comes. With hope we can live confidently. If that hope is in the compassion and blessing of God, it is more than wishful thinking. Hope can make us unafraid because the love of God is filling up our inner being. Sometimes hope is on the other side of dark days, but it reaches out through the darkness like a beacon set on a tower. The light of hope conquers the darkness and pushes it back into the corners of our perception. It is bordered by faith and love, and is equal to them in strength and significance. With faith and love, hope endures. In fact its strength is shown by its endurance. So let’s go ahead and focus our hope on the New Year. What do you suppose God has planned for us? We may not have a pillar of fire or a cloud of smoke to show us the way like the Israelites of old did. But we do have a God in whom our hope is placed and we can follow him into the New Year. “ Lead on O King eternal we follow not with fears; for gladness breaks like morning where’re Thy face appears. Thy cross is lifted o’er us. We journey in its light. The crown awaits the conquest; lead on, O God of might.”
12/26/2021
December 25 came earlier this year. I know that is not technically possible, but that is how it felt. Perhaps it was that last year so much had to be cancelled and put off. The season was less busy last year because it had to be. This year everything seemed to come back at super sonic speed. Thanksgiving was gone and Advent was upon us before we could even catch our breath. I never caught up to the season. Normally by the end of the last week of November I have many of my Christmas presents in hand. This year all my Christmas giving feels like a belated birthday card. “Sorry I missed your birthday this year, Jesus!” There was just so much going on that I couldn’t keep up. Perhaps, in spite of the tragedy of over 800,000 deaths due to COVID there were some small blessings. Circumstances and health mandates forced us to slow down and limit our activities. We experienced more quiet and more time for reflection. We were more appreciative of all we have with family and friends. Our ultimate dependency on others and especially on God was made plain to us. The driver who delivers our food, the person who serves our meals, the entertainers who distract us from our pains, the medical personnel who risk their lives for our health and safety seem much more important than we realized before. I, for one, often appreciated some of the slower pace in our life. I do not find the busyness as attractive as I thought I would when it returned. So I may leave the Christmas decorations up a bit longer now that we are past the busy season. The new year is just days away now. I think I’ll try to work on making it slower, simpler and more peaceful. Maybe we could try to do that together.
12/19/2021
Christmas is the season of good will and peace for all. We celebrate the birth of Jesus and remember that little holy family with all its triumphant joy and distressing challenges. It is a time filled with great music and with silly romantic Christmas movies. There are culinary treats: rich desserts, crisp cookies and wonderful entrees. Even the side dishes are especially ampted-up creations. There are decorations and tinsel. There are TV specials with glittering performers. It is the season of meaningful, beautiful Christmas worship drawing on our memories and making new ones to add to our collective memory. There are family moments of real importance. We celebrate it all. It is unfortunately also the season of catalogues. Every day in the mail during this season we find our mail box stuffed with catalogues offering nearly everything one could imagine.New gadgets, unimagined by most of us are available both cheap and expensive.Exotic cheeses, teas, candies, coffees are on offer.You can find Danish Kringle, Syrian spices, nuts of all types and flavors.There are aged steaks, smoked salmon, kippers and pickled herring.Every tool for every hobby or project can be ordered.Garden seeds and supplies are available and if you buy just a bit more than then shopping is included.I admit that I enjoy the first few catalogues, but after a while there is just too much.I begin to pity themail man lugging all this stuff around.Sure it was a blessing for many of us to order online during the COVID pandemic since we are so far away from family, but I am ready to be back in the stores looking for Christmas bargains.As I think about all this, I remember that in the early years on the prairie most of what people could buy would have to be ordered from a Sears, Wards, or Penny’s catalogue.May be we are moving back in the direction of that earlier time. Amidst all the changing world, Let us celebrate.After all it is Christmas!
12/12/2021
My favorite kind of weather is what I call “sweater weather.” That is the kind of weather that requires a sweater outdoors with cooler nights that require a warm comforter on the bed. It is good for a fire in the fire place with hot chocolate or mocha coffee on the side table. I much prefer cool to warm or not. I do notice the cold more now than when I was younger, so you have my permission to tease me if you catch me complaining about the cold this winter. By the end of February I am longing for some warmer days. Maybe it is the diversity of climate that appeals to me. I like the variety we get to experience. Extreme cold or extreme heat proves tiresome over long periods, but I am sure that I would not like 365 days at 72 degrees. Give me some variety. Of course I prefer that variety on my time table and schedule. I like variety in other things. I like it in my reading material. I like it in my foods. I like it in my clothing. I have trouble answering the question: “What is your favorite...?” I never know what to say on those rare occasions when someone in the family asks: “What do you want sung at your funeral service?” I can think of thirty options which doesn’t match my goal of a short funeral service. So whatever is chosen , sing loudly enough that hopefully I can hear it in heaven. Perhaps this desire for variety is one of the reasons that I like so many different kinds of people. There is such a variety in the human race. The more I get to know people, the more I see that makes them worth knowing. Even when there are tensions in relationships, I often think that if I knew the other better I would probably find things to like about them. It has happened so often to me that I have come to expect that I will ultimately like the people I meet. Now this is far below the standard that God practices - who loves all in a wonderful self - giving way, but is at least a small movement in that direction.
12/05/2021
I like pumpkin pie especially topped with whipped cream. At a recent Thanksgiving dinner I had pumpkin pie- without the crust, cooked in a ramekin. With whipped cream on top it was still delicious. On the other hand I have a pound of pumpkin flavored coffee which probably will last me the rest of my natural life. It doesn’t exactly taste terrible (ok, maybe it does), but I am certain that one cup a year is more than enough. Some things are just a bit too much. At times I feel like this about the Christmas season. I enjoy all the trimmings and trappings, but after a while it seems a bit too much. I appreciate the deeper religious and theological meaning of the birth of Jesus, but when Christmas decor goes up alongside Halloween, I begin to wonder if all this is less about loving and honoring Jesus and more about loving and honoring sales projections. I try not to let this spoil my pleasure in Christmas, but it is a struggle. I don’t really feel “grinchy” about all the Christmas excess. I do remember with some revisionist nostalgia when one toy and an orange in one’s Christmas stocking was a reason for celebration. If there was a book shaped package under the tree, socks and underwear could be accepted as presents even with some limited appreciation. There are things I miss about that simpler time in my memory. In the end it is not advertisers or pitch men who determine how I will view Christmas, but rather my willingness to welcome Christ into my life and love. It will be my willingness to let the Christ child be born in me today.
11/28/2021
This is the first of the four Sundays of Advent. It is part of the beginning of the church year. Often we think in practical terms of the church’s year starting at summer’s end and the beginning of the school year. This is good for practical planning, but officially the church year starts with All Saints Day on November First. Not to long after that we begin Advent. This is a season of anticipation. It is the start of all the wonders of Christmas and Easter. We look again with anticipation as we remember the coming of the Messiah. “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, born to set the people free…” We get caught up in the pageantry and nostalgia of the season, but we still remember why it is so meaningful. The sending of Christ into our world is the magnificent expression of the Heavenly Father’s love. So in honor of that great love we express our love to those around us. At least for a season we greet each other and are on our most polite behavior- at least most of the season. Perhaps we sense even in our customary Christmas celebrations that something deeper and more profound than mere decoration is going on. We are anticipating a new year. Could this be the year that more and better peace might be realized? Could this be the year in which we recover politeness and the reset on what it should be based? Is this the year that violence might decrease and gentleness reigns supreme? Is this the year that we learn to get along together? That we have hope and anticipation? Even if we realize that our ideal hopes may not be realized we believe that this year can be better by the grace of God.
11/21/2021
Our grandson, Frankie was named Franklin Henry Boyer for his two great grandfathers, T.Franklin Miller and Henry Boyer. He has always been an inquisitive and thoughtful boy. He wants to do things right and wants others to do things right as well. Underneath his strong opinions there is a deep pool of kindness and helpfulness. Fairly early in his elementary school period, he began to think about Thanksgiving and its meaning. He announced to his parents that this year at Thanksgiving he was going to celebrate Franksgiving. If someone needed help, Franklin Henry Boyer was going to help them. It would be a holiday of Frank’s giving. With a practical pun, Frankie demonstrated one of the basic principles of a grateful heart. If we are truly thankful, we need to find ways to express our thanksgiving by helping those around us. My preacher’s ear picked up on that idea immediately. I was delighted by the pun Frankie created but even more by the heart it revealed. How much our children and grand children can help see through the clutter of our life and times. If you are thankful then help other even if your name isn’t Frank. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if here was an outbreak of Davidgiving and Susangiving and Georgegiving and Gladysgiving? This Thanksgiving could be a wonderful celebration of helpfulness. I don’t know if Franklin still remembers to celebrate Thanksgiving his way, but I know he is still kind and helpful. So celebrate and indulge a bit with family and friends, but see if you can also find ways to be helpful. In honor of the impulse that prompted Franklin Henry Boyer, practice a little "Franksgiving.”
11/14/2021
Recently we went through our collection of music CDs. It is embarrassing how many we have in our possession. We have all kinds of music: classical, religious, country/western, pop, opera, instrumental, folk and jazz. Our Christmas collection alone spans all these forms. We don’t have much in the comic genre. No Grandma Just Got Run Over by a Reindeer, but most other forms are there. I did notice that there was a missing element. We only had on Thanksgiving CD. So I ordered a couple of Thanksgiving CDs. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir had a couple of examples with some of the great Thanksgiving hymns. Another album has: We Gather Together to ask the Lord’s Blessing and Come, Ye thankful people Come and Count your blessings and Let all things now living and We plow the fields and Scatter and For the beauty of the Earth. There are too many to sing in one service but fortunately they can be sung in almost any service because thanksgiving is a basic part of the Christian experience. Every day we give thanks to God for his love and mercy. We thank God for our daily bread. We thank each other for their help and love. We thank God for sending Jesus to us. We thank God for health and healing. We thank God for comfort and guidance in difficult times. We thank God for the times of gladness and joy. Around our family table we name the things for which we are thankful. We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving and for every day before and after. With all this thanksgiving it is amazing that we ever need to complain and criticize. So come you thankful people come and raise a song of thanksgiving to God for today.
11/07/2021
In the northern hemisphere autumn runs from September through November. It is also known as Fall, one of the four seasons of the year. The leaves fall during this season and that seems to be the origin of the term. The word Autumn can be traced back through Latin to the Etruscan word “autu” for the changing of the year. It is a time of harvest: corn, pumpkins, apples and other lasting vegetable produce that symbolizes the harvest season. It is the season of All Saints Day and Thanksgiving. On our tables are the symbols of plenty. It is a generous time filled with inner and family warmth even amid cooler temperatures. The days are shorter and there is less sunshine, so a fire in the fireplace warms not only the body but the spirit as a symbol of protection and home. Often the skies are clear and the stars are available for viewing. The Harvest Moon as the first full moon near the Autumn Equinox lights up the night sky. The autumn equinox is September 22-23 in the northern hemisphere, but occurrs in March-May in the Southern hemisphere. Autumn could symbolize many different things. It could represent change as all the seasons do. It could symbolize preservation as we prepare for winter. It could be full of pictures of cozy comfort and protection. It could remind us of the necessity of letting go. Perhaps it is enough not to ask and deep probing questions of autumn and simply enjoy the glory of the changing leaves and bask in its beauty. Isn’t beauty itself enough to be meaningful? So sip your cider, eat a donut, cozy up to the fire, kick through the leaves on your walk, wear a warm fuzzy sweater and just enjoy the Fall. Maybe after all that is enough.
10/31/2021
This Sunday is All Hallows Eve which will later be pronounced as Halloween. This is the evening before All Saints Day on November first. All Saints Day honors all the saints of the church and so could be accounted an extra ordinarily holy day. Perhaps that’s why Halloween seemed to some the last chance for all the spooky things to assert themselves. I don’t take any of that very seriously, although I do take evil seriously. Halloween seems to me to be a chance to dress up in silly costumes, shiver with a little imaginary scary fun and eat lots of candy. Even the Tricks in “trick or treat” seem largely to be gone. I do take seriously All Saints Day. It is a moment to honor all the saints, but especially those that have gone to be with the Lord. The Apostle Paul uses the word “saints” for all the people of God and not just the “saintly” ones. He calls the members of the Corinthian Church saints even when he confronts them about their inappropriate behavior at the Lord’s Supper. All of us who are in relationship with God through Jesus Christ, our Lord, are saints by this definition. If you happen to be around for my funeral service, I hope the congregation will sing For All the Saints who from their labors rest, with music by Ralph Vaugh Williams. This is not because I feel especially saintly, but because I, like you, will be part of that heavenly host who “triumphant rise in bright array…singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost; Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
10/24/2021
A well known religious TV program is entitled Words and Music. The title prompts us to think about how much the interaction of words and music affect us. The relationship is especially significant when the words come from scripture. When we read Psalm 27 “the Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I be afraid?” many of us hear the triumphal solo “The Lord Is my Light.” We hear in our minds the soaring solo voice confidently proclaiming the Lord’s salvation. Even the secular setting of Ecclesiastes “to everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven” rings true in our minds and hearts. Many of the settings of scripture in Handel’s Messiah repeat every time we read the passage. Who can remain unmoved by the Alto solo “He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom and gently lead the mother sheep?” We remember in Holy Week Steiner’s God So Loved the World. Even non musicians recognize Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus and thrill to “the kingdoms of this world is come the Kingdom of our God and of his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever.” The words and the music together reinforce their significance in our hearts and minds. We do not even need to work at memorizing the words because they plant themselves deeply in our consciousness. Poetry and music combined are powerful in every culture and time. So, “Sing unto the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord all the earth,” and while you are at it sing unto the Lord some old songs as well as together we sign praises to our God.
10/17/2021
We all make mistakes in our speech. We are not taking, as point, about errors in grammar or sloppy usage. We make the more serious mistakes of saying what we should not say. In a moment of anger or carelessness we may say something hurtful to someone else. At times the hurtful speech is directed to those closest to us. How difficult it is as the Book of James puts it to control our tongues. We describe that process when we say things like “I had to bite my tongue.” We know from the physical process of literally biting our tongue how painful the process of controlling our speech can be. The damage of our uncontrolled tongues is at its worst when we have hurtful intent. We may use our speech to build ourselves up and to tare others down. We may be assassins of others character. We may murder the hope, dreams and reputations of other people. What we are often less aware of is the effect of careless speech. A thoughtless casual comment may be appropriated by someone else and used for harm. What is intended as a joke may be used to wound another person even without being intended to do so. At times something proposed as a joke may have a truly malicious intent. Gossip may be intentally or accidentally harmful. We try to avoid it in every way we can while still being concerned about each other’s welfare. Our words can be a curse or a blessing. It is important that we choose our words carefully. It is certain that we all will make mistakes with our tongues and we learn together how to forgive each other’s failures of the tongue. It is not easy to be responsible in our speech. Perhaps that is why Jesus said, “let your yes be yes and your no be no” as a way to avoid the danger of injury by our words.
10/10/2021
Easter Sunday in 2022 is April 17. I know this in part because my new Church Leaders Calendar feels like a new adventure. Here are blank pages waiting to be filled with new events and activities. Some of those spaces will be filled with wonderful events: weddings, births, anniversaries, milestone celebrations. There will also be sorrowful events: deaths, funerals, breakups, conflicts. There will be unpredicted events on local, national and international levels. There may be wars and rumors of wars. New illnesses may develop and new remedies may come. The joys and disasters of technology will keep accelerating. Celebrities will rise and fall in popularity. Teams will win and lose. Politicians will come and go. Even for just one year the events are not fully predictable. As I begin to fill in the things I do know I will fill in birthdays, anniversaries, and graduations. The church calendar will add fixed dates and the big events: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and others will be there. The best part of a new calendar (especially one that arrives three months before the New Year) is that it reminds me that I need to be planning. I need to be thinking about Easter now even though it is still many months away. There will always be changes. My old planning calendar has many cross outs and last minute changes noted. Still it was better to plan ahead even when we know that the plans will in some cases have to be changed. God can be with us in our planning and in the changes that inevitably come. But for now, let’s start filling the calendar spaces with good plans knowing that the future is bright with the promises of God.
10/03/2021
For many years I carried in my mind a variety of phone numbers. Now days, while I remember some numbers from the past, I am hard pressed to remember any contemporary phone numbers even for those close to me that I call often. I’m not sure I would even remember my wife’s number except that it is only one digit different than my own number. The problem could be my changing memory as I age, but I don’t think that to be the case. Not everything should be foisted on old age. The real culprit is my cell phone. It is so easy to scroll down through the contact list and push the button to call someone. I no longer have to remember the number so my mind doesn’t bother to remember. I do feel safer with my wife and I having cell phones since no one can remember seeing a phone booth on a street anywhere in the United States except perhaps in an airport. The downside is that if the phone is on the blink we are stuck until we can find a directory. Rarely is this a problem, but it does make me reflect on this new level of dependence on technology. Will this change the sharpness of our memory? What would happen if the whole system went down? Overall I think cell phones have been a blessing, but sometimes it makes me wonder. New technologies will keep coming along. In the main they will be beneficial if used correctly, but they can be damaging if abused. We could take the stance that we will avoid all the new stuff, but it will still be the world of our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I don’t want to be left behind. Hopefully, I can take advantage of the benefits of new technology and still be wise enough to see its limitations.