One of my heroes, Billy Graham

A prayer by Billy Graham:

"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done:

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free."

In the name of our Savior Jesus, Amen.

The spirit of Football

Football season is amungst us once again. A time for our state to rally around our young men, from Jaycees to our beloved Huskers. I am reminded of something my father said many years ago that has stuck with me. I often think of this saying when my favorite teams lose a close one, or win unexpectedly....

"Football is a great way for young men to sneak up on manhood."

One sweet man...

The world lost one of the most gentle souls I have ever known today, August 13, 2008.

This world's loss is heaven's gain.

I thought I would share with you some of my best memories. I am certain that his grandchildren have had the pleasure of many of these experiences as well.

• The first time I ever drove a vehicle I was about 10 years old, I sat on his lap and he let me drive down a busy highway 50 into town.
• There were times when we would fish for bullhead in his pond, and we didn't throw them back, we cleaned them and actually had bullhead for dinner.
• Going to the county fair and getting to ride the Ferris wheel.
• I remember getting my first digital watch from Grandpa and Grandma. It was even a Dukes of Hazard model!
• Getting to ride his "Big Red" 3-wheeler through the fields, over the terraces, seeing how many cow patties I could avoid hitting.
• Butchering chickens, the experience speaks for itself.
• Sitting in his shop on countless Christmas days starring at all the hats hung in the rafters wondering, "where did he get all of these, especially that authentic Nebraska football helmet from the early 70's?"
• Fritz, the only German Shepard I knew that loved beer and "a chew."
• Harvesting beans and milo in the fall and realizing how precious the work is that farmers do.
• The joy in his voice when he heard he was a great-grandfather.

In the words of his 10-year-old great-grandson Kyle, " You know, sometimes we get to go to a friends house for a few hours, but then we have to come home after a while; that is kind of like our life on earth, sooner or later we have to go home."

See you in the relatively not-so-distant future, Grandpa Bernie.