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  Easter
at Susan's
Vivienne Pastrick was the only little girl to join us for Easter dinner
at Susan's since a flu-like bug had visited the Disher girls during the
week. But with Galen, Jonny, Reuben, Isaac, Rowen, and Corvin,
there was plenty of holiday mayhem to go around.
Nancy enjoyed the visit from the families but did not exert herself.
Without Annie, Susan did most of the cooking and cleanup.
I hid the eggs in the living room, hallway, and music area, and for once,
all the eggs were found, with significant adult hinting when needed.
Julie was traveling, so fortunately the Pastricks brought COSTCO carrot
cake muffins for dessert.
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The east light in Susan's living room always helps produce good photos.
Family portraits were a challenge due to the squirrely kids.
Vivienne surprised me with the clarity of her
"words," even if they were still baby talk. However, she is
behind schedule in the walking department.
I try to play with each of the kids.
Reuben is still the most reserved. I especially had fun playing
with a toothless Isaac.
Nathanael easily beat me at Indian arm wrestling
and it was not fair to play that game with an eager Jonny. I could
just lift him straight up to win.
Randy joined us after his Sunday service in
Everett. Due to the illness at our house, we enjoyed the 8:00 AM
Easter service from University Presbyterian Church via YouTube.
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 Jeremiah:
God's Man in Faithless Times
at Emerald Heights in April
I presented lessons 4, 5, 6, and 7 to wrap up
my study of the Book of Jeremiah, and will conclude my time
this year at Emerald Heights with the Book of Lamentations on May 4th.
From Lesson 4:
The people of Judah
were not just forgetful of their God, they were ignorant of Him. But
Jeremiah does not lay all the blame on the lazy students.
His next line says, in Jeremiah 8:8-9,
8
"`How can you say, "We are wise, for we have the law of the LORD,"
when actually the lying pen of the scribes
has handled it falsely?
9 The
wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped.
Since they have rejected the word of the
LORD, what kind of wisdom
do they have?
Throughout the Scriptures, God uses the
image of Shepherds and Sheep when describing His people. Where you find
a wayward and ignorant flock of sheep, you’ll find a lazy and corrupt
cadre of Shepherds.
The classic passage on this is Jeremiah’s
contemporary Ezekiel over in Babylon. In Ezekiel chapter 34, God through
that prophet says the same thing Jeremiah says, except Ezekiel is
preaching to those who have already been carried off into exile. As I
read Ezekiel 34:11 and 12, picture God coming down to Earth Himself to
shepherd His flock with love and justice. Oh, that’s right – the
Good Shepherd that lays down His life for His sheep actually already
fulfilled Ezekiel’s prophesy.
11
"`For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my
sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his
scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I
will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day
of clouds and darkness.
Two different prophets, each relaying God’s
words to their assigned audiences, Jeremiah preaching to his
stiff-necked and unrepentant countrymen in Judah, and Ezekiel similarly
preaching to the first generation of exiles in Babylon, with the hope
that their children or grandchildren will eventually return to the God
who has disciplined them with this national “time out.”
From Lesson 5:
And three generations after Jeremiah, when
the Babylonian Captivity had come to its end, the prophet Zechariah
in chapters 3 and 6 would also write of this Divine King referred to
as "the Branch."
Zechariah 3:8-9
8 "`Listen, O high priest
Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic
of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.
9 See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are
seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on
it,' says the LORD Almighty,
`and I will remove the sin of this
land in a single day.'
This particular high priest is not the Branch, but just a type or
symbol of one who would come in the future – and surprisingly – one
who would remove the sin of this land in a single day. I
believe we just commemorated that day last Friday, last Good
Friday.
From Lesson 6:
In the next verse, Jeremiah will announce
God’s New Covenant, his plan to save any of mankind that follow Him
in faith. This preamble about “sour grapes” makes one major point.
Folks can no longer blame their parents, their upbringing, or their
life circumstances for their standing before God. Your parent
was a drunk, a gambler, a criminal, an absent father – what’s that
to God? Will YOU follow Him? Conversely, if your parent was a
faithful pastor, evangelist, missionary, or godly layman – your
likelihood of enjoying God’s blessing is multiplied – but still,
will YOU follow Him?
"For I will
forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
(Jeremiah 31:34b)
The gift of the Holy Spirit puts God’s Law in our hearts but it does
not guarantee that we will obey it. But the New Covenant, by virtue
of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf, takes my continued sinfulness
(and yours) into consideration. God graciously forgets what He
forgives.
By the way – there is
a verse in 2 Samuel about that
Davidic King to come, that seems surprisingly direct, yet incredibly
overlooked.
2 Samuel 7:14 says, “I will be his
father, and he will be my son…" Could God be any
clearer about the identity of Israel’s Messiah?
From Lesson 7:
Good and bad figs as well as wheat and
chaff illustrate the same thing. There is no lukewarm
middle-ground with God. No amount of giving to a favorite charity or
Sundays of church attendance or other acts of feigned piety can
substitute for even one mustard seed sized portion of genuine faith
in God.
Just because God was about to severely discipline His chosen nation
Judah, didn’t leave other nations off the hook. Like those six
nations driven out of the Promised Land when Joshua led in the
Children of Israel, the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites,
Hivites and Jebusites – every nation on Earth is subject to God’s
watchful eye and His just wrath. This wrath was depicted by the cup
of wine Jeremiah was required to pass around to Judah’s neighbors.
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 The April Garden
On the 12th, I moved 25 of the first small tomato
seedlings from their cups or seed starter cells to 6" pots. It's
hard to keep track of which variety is which. I am worried that
these tomato starts are a month behind schedule. They are now outside on
the deck railing waiting for me to finish preparing their spots in the
ground.
The garlic (with Valerie) looks wonderful, but the real test is what's below ground in
June, not the leaves in April. I have yet to see the expected
hardneck garlic scapes.
After I finished writing my 7th of 8 lessons in Jeremiah, I
felt some freedom to get back to the garden. On the 24th, I
finally spotted the first leaves from my potatoes poking up through the
mulch in their eight seven-gallon grow bags. I also planted three
Early Girl tomatoes in large pots and four Jalapeño peppers in
five-gallon buckets. These are plants I'd bought at Carpinito
Brothers in Kent the Saturday before. On the 30th, I added seven
small Jalapeño peppers I grew from seeds. I also planted four pots of
Zinnias and hope I'm not too early. I have many jars of seeds from
last year to plant throughout the spring and summer. Nine small
pots of Marigolds and
five larger pots of Daylily seeds also got planted.
The Aster and Phlox perennials are coming back.
The green onions are perking up and
will get transplanted in May. Onions and leeks
from last year are still going, as are
chives. Another horseradish plant is coming up in its big pot,
even if I now have a big jar of it in the refrigerator I don't expect to
use much.
Warm weather toward the end of the
month encouraged me to plant some of the cucumber seeds I saved from
last season. Parsley and Basel seeds got planted on the 29th.
 
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  Still
the "Fixer"
Even while Nancy was at Susan's, she returned
to her habit of fixing and repairing things.
Then while Susan was away at an event
in Tennessee, Nancy began sewing a special table cloth with a
musical theme. This gift for Susan will need to be
finished once Susan takes another trip.
Nancy needs to use her sewing machine.
On the 30th, I bought two new
thermostats at Home Depot and, of course, Nancy is installing
them.
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 "Two
little monkeys
jumping on the bed."
It was good that Nancy was at Susan's
because everyone here (except little Irene) had a bout of flu
this month. First Charis, then Annie, then Valerie,
followed by Thomas, and lastly me. A week later, the
Auburn Sleights and Ebys also shared the flu around.
Charis got her first trip to the
Emergency Room after she inhaled some bath water. We need to
teach that mermaid how to swim! Valerie got her own trip
to her doctor to confirm that the bump on her foot was a benign
cyst.
Both help in the garden, very slowly
filling small pots with dirt, or carrying firewood. Charis
will carry multiple pieces while Valerie carries just one.
I'm happy that each of them seem so
happy to see me each morning.
This month I also got lots of quality
time just holding Irene.
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Bits and Pieces
   We heard that David
Eby tested positive for COVID on Easter Sunday. With his other
ongoing medical challenges, we are prompted to pray all the more.
Nathanael also tested positive for COVID. Nathanael came down with
COVID later but is doing well.
I love the new
Mariner's trident, their awesome home run symbol. Appropriately,
Julio Rodríguez was the first to earn the right to raise it after his
two-run homer on the 19th.
 I
am still a proud Eagle Scout. My board of review date was 04/26/71.
Randy was ordained as
a Ruling Elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Everett.
I'm not quite a
hockey fan (yet), but I was excited to listen to the game 7 Seattle
Kraken win over the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Colorado
Avalanche, two goals to one on Sunday night, April 30th. Our
Goalie, Philipp Grubauer, formerly an Avalanche team member, played the
game of his life.
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