1,170 Miles From Here

WARNING: This post is an emotional release for me. It is probably not going to be short.

I wish we were 1,170 miles from here.
Nothing is wrong at home. Cathy and I are doing fine and the garden is producing all sorts of vegetables, including more beans than we can handle. But, I wish we were 1,170 miles from here.
We were just down in Eugene to see my folks last week. They are 89 and 85 years old, still live in their own place, still drive, are still involved in their church, and devour all the books Cathy takes to them. We can notice that they are slowing down, needing more rest and sleep, and are not able to work as hard as they would like. Considering their age, they are doing great. But, I wish we were 1,170 miles from here.
There is no disaster at work. The church is alive and well. People are busy serving God and others. The ladies have a retreat this weekend, which means attendance in Sunday School and Worship will be down a little this Sunday. We also have a men's breakfast this Saturday morning, followed by four hour work "day". But, I wish we were 1,170 miles from here.
Today marks exactly two months until the day Cathy and I fly to Orlando to begin a long-anticipated and awaited vacation with our dear friends, the Herrons, beginning at Disney World and then followed by a 7-night cruise in the Caribbean for which all of our kids, including the Herrons' grandkids, will be joining us. It is going to be a most wonderful time and probably the first time in over a decade that both families have been together with everyone present. But, I wish we were 1,170 miles from here.

1,170 miles from here is where Shane and Alison, our son-in-law and daughter live. I wish we were there right now. Last night, their beloved dog and one of our "granddogs", Dexter, died. A number of days ago, he consumed half of a roasted chicken…bones and all. It was a high price to pay for doing what came natural to a dog that was full grown but really still a puppy. As with Cathy and I when we were first married, their dogs are their kids and this loss is enormous. When Alison talks to me about it—the feelings she expresses, the phrases and words she uses, the grief that is so overwhelming—it brings back what we went through when our first dog, Sampson, met his untimely death on Thanksgiving morning in 1975.

We have had nearly thirty-nine years filled with great joys, including our three children, our daughter-in-law, son-in-law, and four more dogs (of which one even lived long enough to die "naturally" in her old age). We have also had many other great griefs including the loss of my sister Cheryl to ALS and the loss of my father-in-law to cancer. I think the loss of Sampson so long ago helped teach me that God will carry me through times of grief, including the more significant losses of Cheryl and Cathy's dad. We know more grief is coming. Cathy's mom and my parents are not the only ones getting older. I don't want to think about those future losses right now but I know God will carry us through.

Shane lost a sister in a tragic accident a number of years ago. Alison has had her tragedies, too (and has the scars to prove it). But Dexter was one of their two dogs—a life they took care of together. This is a joint loss for them. They are grieving together and deeply. I know their other dog, Cody, will be receiving a lot of extra hugs and loving. They will continue to cry and grieve together and we want to hold them, cry with them, and pray with them instead of doing it from far away.

I wish we were 1,170 miles from here…in Ontario, CA with my daughter and son-in-law (and the other granddog).

Dexter is in the red oval below in our Christmas picture from last year.

My Ice Bucket Challenge Problem

I have not been challenged with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, yet. My sister, Cheryl, died from ALS a number of years ago and I would love to see huge advances made in overcoming the disease… but not at any cost.

I've visited the ALS Association web site (alsa.org), reading their information on the kind of research that takes place. It is important to know that I regard all human life as just that: Human life. When conception/fertilization occurs, even when disguised with terms such as "so-called totipotent cells", "blastocyst", "inner cell mass", etc, it is a human life. Basically, whether done using laboratory fertilized eggs or aborted babies, it is stopping a human life.

I do not think the ALS Association or its members are wicked and evil…at least, not any more than myself and everyone else. I believe they have a passion for conquering ALS. I understand there are greater difficulties with using adult stem cells taken from bone marrow and ALS research receives relatively little funding. Nevertheless, ending one life, even before it is fully formed, in order to try to help ALS victims is not something I can condone or support. I believe it is morally and spiritually wrong. (I won't do the sermon here on the value God places on human life.)

If the ALS Association can assure me that any contributions will go to research not using intentionally terminated embryos/fetus/fertilized-human-egg/etc., then I will joyfully take the plunge and donate to the cause.

I wish my brother-in-law hadn't lost his wife. I wish my nieces hadn't lost their mom. I wish my parents hadn't lost their first born, I wish my siblings and I hadn't lost our sister. It would love to see an end to ALS…but not at the cost of taking other lives.

Addendum:
I added this to the post on Facebook and wanted to include it here as well.

Okay, here is a start and you can do your own checking on it (In fact, you should do your own checking on it). It's The John Paul II Medical Research Institute in Iowa (http://www.jp2mri.org/mission/htm and/or http://www.jp2mri.org/captial-campaign.htm).

And another: Israel based BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics (http://www.brainstorm-cell.com).

By the grace of God, these groups (and perhaps there are others) may find a cure or viable treatment for ALS without the termination of other human lives.

Still Learning…and Relearning

She is more than thirty-five years younger than me and, although we have never met, I hope to have the privilege some day. On her Facebook page, in the "About" section, and under "Family", is "About J_____". It simply says, "It's not." Those two words have a greater impact than the 60+ words carefully crafted for their conciseness and entered on my Facebook page. Another lesson on humility.

Last Sunday, I sacrificed my God-given responsibility to be a vessel by which God convicts and transforms His people through the preaching of His word. Instead, we had people from three different ministries share about the work they do which the church has supported to some extent. Of all Sundays, why did we have to have all those first time visitors on a day they would not even get to hear the Pastor preach? I suppose it was because God wanted them to know that this was His church endeavoring to follow His leadership…and it was not about the pastor. I do not remember the last time the people were as blessed or impacted by my preaching. I suspect it has never happened. They are still talking about it. Another lesson on humility and the sovereignty of God.

Did it make a permanent impact, that is, did it really change anyone's life? I am now working on enlisting individuals in the church who lead ministries or serve regularly in other ministries to share on a Sunday in March while I go and preach at one of the ministries that just shared this past Sunday. So, the answer must be, "Yes" because it changed me. Lessons learned.

Gantenbeins' 2013 Not-So-Annual Christmas Letter

You are right: There was not a "Gantenbeins' 2012 Annual Christmas Letter." We were waiting for something in particular to develop. It did, so let's get right to it with an abbreviated timeline.

2012

~Jim and Cathy turned 60!

~May 26 — On our 38th anniversary. We met Shane Calhoun and five minutes later Alison surprised us by showing up at our front door for a visit. We began to wait for that relationship to develop.

~September - October — A rare and cherished blessing as we were able to visit with each of our children twice while on vacation.

~Christmas — The whole family was home for Christmas! (The picture at the top of this page.) We continued to watch the relationship develop between Alison and Shane.

2013

~March 16 — Cathy and I began the Ideal Protein Diet.

~Spring — A lot of emails, text messages, and phone calls between Alison and us regarding possible venues for the not-yet-official upcoming event.

~May 5 — Alison sent us the picture that officially confirmed that the relationship had developed as all had hoped and expected.

~June — David came for a brief visit while attending his high school 10-year reunion.

~August 9 — Alison was shocked when she saw me two days before the wedding. I had not told her about the weight we were losing.

~August 11, 2013 — Shane and Alison were married!

~November 23 — I finished my weight loss after dropping 100 pounds. Cathy continues to slim down.

~Christmas — The whole family was home again!

And now, for updates on the family:

Aaron and Denise continue to live and work in Winston OR where Aaron is Associate Pastor of Community Baptist Church and Denise works hard to develop the Children's ministry. This summer they were heavily involved in World Changers as their church hosted this event. We are praying for Denise's family. Her father is battling cancer.

Shane and Alison continue to settle in to married life in Ontario CA. Shane is on faculty as a counselor at California State University, San Bernadino. Besides each other, they enjoy their dogs, Cody and Dexter, their pallet garden, and Shane's pottery.

David continues to live and work in Phoenix where he stays extremely busy as Student Pastor of Foothills Baptist Church. He is still single but is not opposed to changing that status should a relationship develop with the right lady. We are not opposed to it, either!

Cathy and I are pretty much the same as in our last Christmas letter except we are two years older and many pounds lighter. We are looking forward to having grandkids…someday…maybe…nothing yet… but are happy we are able to be with the grand dogs.

Even though this has been relatively brief, our lives are very full. We thank God for His increased blessings and for your friendship (or "relationship" for those who have the distinction of being family). May 2014 be a year of blessings for you, as well.

In His love,

Jim and Cathy

Coming To God's Rescue?

Where is it written in God's word that God needs, wants, or calls for us to defend Him? When Paul talked about his defense of the gospel in Philippians 1:16, the word "defense" is the word for apology as in "apologetics" which is intelligent reasoning, not verbal warring. Even the psalmist called on God to defend (plead) His own cause (Psalm 74:22).

If Phil Robertson is never allowed back on television again, neither God nor His kingdom will suffer. For that matter, neither will Phil Robertson. So far, he appears to be one of the few voices not crying "foul!" Granted that my exposure to his words is limited but what I have seen and/or read indicates that the patriarch of Duck Dynasty continues to bear witness to his Lord without saying, "Shame on you, A&E!"

I have never looked to A&E or any other broadcast company as a guardian of the faith. In fact, when a person of faith is targeted, as Phil Robertson has been, we should praise God for allowing everyone to see the polarity between pleasing God and pleasing the world. The Holy Spirit did not inspire the Apostle Paul to write 2 Corinthians 10 for nothing!

On a personal note: When the SBC and other groups called for a boycott of all things Disney in 1997, I went the extra mile and tried to learn as much as I could about just how evil Disney was. I accomplished this by personally examining every single ride and show at Disneyland and, later, the newly opened California Adventure Park. Just to make sure, I repeated this process numerous times until the boycott ended in 2005. I suppose I will approach the current outrage against A&E over the treatment of Phil Robertson with equal alarm.

Now, if you will excuse me, all our kids are coming home for Christmas and I can do something meaningful about that!

Liberate Yourself Politically

The wonderful people of Kitsap Lake Baptist Church in Bremerton know that I try hard to keep politics out of what we do as God's people. As a rule, I do not discuss politics. There are more important things.

Many years ago, I made a decision: I will no longer be aligned with any political party. That decision has produced numerous benefits. Here are a few:

• I am free from "loyalty" to any political party or agenda.
• Distinctions between a conservative political view and a biblical view become much clearer.
• The responsibility God places upon His own people to repent appears much greater.
• There are more prayers "for" than "against" (things, people, etc.).
• I am more inclined to search through information on all the candidates and issues to see who supports God's views instead of a political stance.
• I care much more about God's truth and much less about worldly ideologies.
• National patriotism is always subject to and filtered through patriotism to God's kingdom.
• Arrogance cloaked in false piety is quickly evident and disgusting…especially in myself.
• The two greatest commandments are more in our heads than in our lives.
• Satan loves politics.

Bonus:

• My "non-alignment" has made my involvement more meaningful.

Was Alison Surprised?

In our family, we like to surprise one another (in a nice way, of course) like when we met Shane for the first time and suddenly Alison showed up at the front door on our 38th anniversary.

This video was taken as I walked up to Shane and Alison two days before their wedding (hence the shaky camera work). They had not seen me since Christmas and did not know I was losing weight. So, was she surprised? You be the judge.

What do you think? Is she just a great actress? Personally, I think it was a true "bazinga!"