Gruss an Aachen is my solution to the shade under the maple tree. Some of you wonder, "But what about planting where maple tree roots are so shallow?

Maple trees hog the water supply with their tough surface roots, but I can create some depth of soil on the perimeter by purchasing some and using circular, ceramic fencing. The surface will be covered by periwinkle, a favorite for shade and for holding soil in place.

Although this seems a stretch, I did some more reading about this rose, which I have grown before. Gruss an Aachen is unusually tough, flowers well in semi-shade, and is also disease resistant. David Austin considered GaA good enough to sell with his modestly-named David Austin Roses (TM).

Isn't that like saying, "I like this Michelangelo so much that I have decided to sell it with my Greg Jackson paintings?"?


Aachen is quite the city - the most western in Germany, where many German kings have been crowned. It also has the hottest of the hot springs, so the wealthy still love going there for the cure.

When It Rains, I Plant
The rain came down in torrents for a long time yesterday. When it let up, I went outside to plant a few miniature sunflowers, for contrast in the rose garden. Mrs. Ichabod half-heard my plans, but reacted strongly when it was done. She imagined one of my sunflower forests, which are pretty neat by themselves. I used one to conceal the play equipment for kids, so the youngest one enjoyed "hiding" from us and popping out of the tree-like stalks.


The big Sunflower you can grow in a small pot! There are many dwarf Sunflowers out there these days, but none quite like Sunny Smile. Plant it in a 4- or 6-inch pot and it will grow a neat 12- to 15-inch-high plant with a single giant bloom fully 5 inches across! Or put it in the garden, where it remains just a bit over a foot high but branches beautifully, giving you 4 to 5 big blooms! Versatile, beautiful, and so easy to grow, it belongs in every sunny garden and flowerpot!

We had our own gourmet cook when we went to Moline. Our motel was next door to his bistro.

When I first began pruning the maple tree, my neighbors laughed as they pointed at me. They were saying to each other, "Now we have to keep up."

Our trees were drooping with low branches and nothing had been done in landscaping. Luther only wanted to garden in retirement. He was called back to preach and gave us his tremendous Sermons on John's Gospel. Seminaries of all persuasions should drop their silly courses and use that - or the Lenker set - to replace their curricula.

When I asked my neighbor for more newspapers, he asked, "More roses?" I said, "Not yet." This is for the vegetable and corn patches in the backyard.

All I have to do is a new project and my neighbors are outside adding to theirs. It is great fun. We do little favors, back and forth, and talk about the way things should be. He warned me about rototilling into the utilities, even when flagged, and that convinced me to mulch on top of the lawn.

At dawn I went outside and looked at all the plants growing, front and back yard. Then I sat down at our front porch eyrie to look over the roses - with raindrops still clinging to them, .Now I have people imagining an old porch six feet above the lawn. This is about three inches above. Did you want me to say - "from the sparrow's nest..."?

The living Seed and the engrafted Word
Seed is the perfect metaphor for God's Word. Since God created all things through Christ, Who is the Creating Word, that is no coincidence.

Seed is alive, just as the Word is alive with the Holy Spirit. Seed can be stored a long time and still germinate from moisture. Inside many seeds is a tiny starter plant and food to get it going. When put in moist soil, the seed knows exactly how to send out tiny roots for stability, food, and water, leaves for photosynthesis.

Mark 4:2ff. And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine, Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

---

* Includes 10 unique, original illustrations by Norma Boeckler. Many people misunderstand confessions of faith, as if confessions were in opposition to the Scriptures. The Bible is the revealed Word of God, inerrant and infallible, while a confession is man’s witness about God’s revelation. Therefore, the Scriptures are God’s unique message to man – irreplaceable. For that reason, The Holy Bible judges all books. Nevertheless, confessions are valuable and instructive. They are man’s testimony about the meaning of God’s Word. They are concise and precise. When there are conflicts about the meaning of the Scriptures, confessions help people compare areas of agreement and disagreement. Paul commended this activity when he wrote, “For there must be also heresies among you that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.” 1 Corinthians 11:19 KJV. Luther compared this to identifying the wormy flour and separating it from the good flour. Bakers know that wormy flour must be removed immediately from the tons of flour around it, before everything is corrupted and ruined with bugs.

Our helper's children came over and played with Sassy, who loved the petting and ball tossing. She wanted to play catch after they left, too.

Our helper came over with his small children to mow and mulch. The electric mower made some sad sounds and crossed over the rainbow bridge.

We switched over to mulching the new garden, the future corn patch. Sassy got petted by two children she knows well and grinned the whole time. When the kids got restless, I got the squeaky ball, and she played catch with them from then on.

I am opening up new garden areas by laying down newspapers and covering them with wood mulch. We only dig where needed for new plants or seeds. When the seedlings come up, more mulch can be used. I used to do that with extra lawn clippings, long ago in Midland. I asked for lawn clippings and autumn leaves wherever I could, and often picked them up from the street. LI said about my pick-ups, as he hid in the backseat, "Why couldn't I have a normal dad?"

But he ate the sweet corn and everything else.



I was always impressed at the volume of organic matter swallowed up by the soil creatures. No matter what I put in the yard, and kept in the yard, I always needed more. Pet rabbits contributed with their wire cages over children's swimming pools. Instead of water in the rigid pools, we had soil and earthworms. The soil and worms provided the sanitation, and the worms grew faster than excuses at WELS headquarters.

As all gardeners know, rabbits have hot (high nitrogen) manure, and earthworms have no trouble using it, taming it, and converting it to casts and wormlings. I often had masses of earthworms in one ball as I hauled the bounty out to the garden and got fresh soil plus a few starter worms.

The water holding quality of humus was demonstrated today when I stuck my hand in the garage rain gutter overhead. I had no living maple treelets, but I had handfuls of maple seeds and leaves trying to compost. By holding onto water, they became effective corks in the gutter, finally oozing down to the bottom as I shook it, knocked it, and poured water down.

Hydrangeas are another flower I do not grow.

That is why humus rich soil does well when rain is sparse. The humus holds it between particles and keeps the cycle of life moving along. Humus and mulch mean my plants do not easily get the droops on a hot, dry day.

The scientists think in terms of N-P-K, but the soil is far more complex than three chemicals.

Forty bags of mulch have cost only $80, and they will become composted soil in time, as earthworms and soil creatures break down the woody residue and digest it, mixing it with the heavy clay in our yard.

I think of the mulch as compost on the spot, forcing the dying lawn to compost as well. The soil will be much richer in the spring, when the serious gardening begins. Worked soil is far more productive, because a large volume of plant material grows in it, digs roots down, and returns as compost when all the crop trash is re-used.

Standard Rose with two grafts - Fragrant Cloud.

KJV James 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls.

Good News James 1:21 So get rid of every filthy habit and all wicked conduct. Submit to God and accept the word that he plants in your hearts, which is able to save you.

Although WELS has blessed every translation (especially the NNIV) this comparison shows how the Gospel can be distorted to become Law. "Receive" which is parallel to "believe" becomes "accept," which is used in "making a decision for Christ."

1. Get rid of.
2. Submit.
3. Accept.

Grafting is one of those on-going wonders of Creation, where two similar plants can be fused together, to obtain the characteristics of both.  

The typical hybrid tea rose has one graft, called the bud union.



The wild rose is used for the roots, because it is hardier than the hybrid tea's foundation. The showy part is grafted so everyone gets the strength of the wild rose and the beauty of hybrid tea.

A standard rose (sometimes called a tree rose) has two grafts. Someone decided they could grow roses for their long canes. The cane is grafted onto the wild rose base, and the hybrid tea is grafted onto the standard.

Pascali as a standard rose. These cost $50, compared to $30 for a hybrid tea.

Grafting explains why this passage from James is such a beautiful expression of the Gospel. The Holy Spirit grafts the Gospel promises onto our wild base, and the fruits of the Spirit shows themselves, even though the base remains coarse.

Sometimes the hybrid tea part will freeze and die, leaving only the wild rose to grow. If you see a large plant with plenty of small and unattractive blooms, it is likely a rose that has gone wild, as they say. 

Apostates are similar. They give up faith in God's Word but want to show off their vast but unattractive fruits. They praise one another to help convince the population that they are as grand as ever - but they have killed the tender graft. They can only ape believers. No wonder they praise one another while stealing sermons and clawing money into their bottomless pockets.

The Tricolor standard rose is ideal for the indecisive.

The engrafted Word teaches the efficacy of the Gospel in one, short phrase.

Receive with meekness is another phrase filled with meaning. Receiving is often used in the New Testament as another way to express believing.

John 1:12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believedin his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

Meekness is a quality of Christ. When the Gospel is grafted onto us, we also receive His meekness. And we should look to His meekness as something to emulate.

Matthew 11:9 Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Although the focus of James is living the Gospel, that does not mean the Gospel is absent in this short but vivid epistle. 

James 1:21 has become a classic in the Christian Faith, often quoted. 

In meekness, believe the Gospel, which the Spirit grafted onto your heart.

Queen Elizabeth rose.

Purchase Norma Boeckler's illustrated Augsburg Confession here.

The Augsburg Confession was presented on June 25, 1530. Like all faithful confessions, every effort was made to silence the confessors and keep the words from being heard.



From Wiki:
"The emperor had ordered the confession to be presented to him at the next session, 24 June; but when the Protestant princes asked that it be read in public, their petition was refused, and efforts were made to prevent the public reading of the document altogether. The Protestant princes, however, declared that they would not part with the confession until its reading should be allowed. The 25th was then fixed for the day of its presentation. In order to exclude the people, the little chapel of the episcopal palace was appointed in place of the spacious city hall, where the meetings of the diet were held. The two Saxon chancellors Christian Beyer and Gregor Bruck the former with the plain German copy, the other in traditional Latin language, stepped into the middle of the assembly, and against the wish of the emperor. The reading of the German version of the text by Christian Beyer lasted two hours and was so distinct that every word could be heard outside." 

I used Norma Boeckler's Trinity symbol for this graphic.

Like it or not, the Augsburg Confession is the standard for all Lutherans. The American Lutherans merely pay lip service to it while teaching against justification by faith. The very small ELDONA group is the only organization among Lutherans to endorse justification by faith alone while rejecting the Pietistic rationalism of Universal Objective Justification (forgiveness and salvation without faith).

Recently, SpenerQuest posted a hissy fit warning everyone to avoid ELDONA because of its teaching of justification by faith. The state of Lutheran apostasy is a vast collection of ironic humor.



Most of us at Augustana College did not know how the school got its named. Some really thought it was a blend of August and Anna. The pastor who confirmed me told me it was not necessary to read. "Just say you agree with it."

Nor did anyone then or now realize the struggle behind the naming of the school and synod. They were consciously rejecting the Church Growthism of the 19th century, which was revivalism - entertainment evangelism at its best. 

Those  who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. And the rest of us are condemned to watch those who have not learned from history - repeating the same old mistakes.

Every Lutheran has an obligation to read the original document, which Norma Boeckler has illustrated so well. I have posted my old graphics, because they are easily available to me from the blog. 



Luther and the Book of Concord editors called themselves "theologians of the Augsburg Confession."

Lutherans today like to argue over every scrap of history, but they do not read their own classic douments - the Confessions, Luther's sermons, Chemnitz, and Gerhard.

Lex orendi, lex credendi. How we worship - that is what we really believe. From ELCA on up, the Lutherans promote the revivalism of the past, using amateur entertainment to draw people. Lutherans stopped singing Lutheran hymns because they are no longer Lutheran. In fact, they hardly sing hymns at all. They listen to the butchers of music howling about themselves, playing tinny and noisy instruments that belong in a street band or madhouse.

My Lutheran Hymnal can be ordered here.

Soaker hoses leak methodically but are most efficient at the faucet and any joints.

I was skeptical about rain coming today, because the radar showed nothing coming over from Oklahoma or up from Texas and the Gulf. I decided to plant some more seeds in the hot, humid, sunny morning.

I planted hollyhocks against the house in the sunny garden, where sunflowers and tomatoes, cucumbers, and pumpkins were growing.

We started the future corn patch last night, so I had a row to fill in the backyard. I added to the digging of our helper and planted a row of mammoth aka striped aka Russian sunflowers.

Real spinach, Malabar spinach, radish, and lettuce seeds will soon arrive. Radish germinates, pops up, and grows fast. Some use radish as markers when they plant other crops, doubtless to quell planter's panic when the gardener thinks, "Nothing will come up. All is lost."

Lettuce can be sown, it is so easy to grow. Loosen some soil with a rake and fling the seed. "A sower went out to sow..."

The sun was bright, and I felt no cool breeze suggesting an upcoming storm. Coming inside, I saw sunlight dimming in the house as the sky darkened. Soon a loud thunderstorm broke so hard that turning off the water on the front gardens seemed unwise.

The thunderstorm was impressive, bringing hail in another part of the area. The sky was very dark as the rain beat down on the roof.

Outside I could watch the rose garden in the heavy rain, with water already pooling the the backyard. It was pooling in the well drained front yard too, because the hose had been on for some time.

Mulch holds the soil in place during a powerful thunderstorm, and keeps soil from dispersing in the wind when the weather is dry.

Once the plants germinate I can sprinkle cypress mulch in the rows to suppress weed growth from then on.

Some weeds will still grow through mulch. Ruth Stout, the mulch pioneer, said, "Pull the weeds and place them on top, as mulch to keep the rest of the weeds from growing." Doubtless she saw that as making the punishment fit the crime.

Baby radishes say, "Your name is not Agent Orange. You can grow green things."

Radish Fun
Radishes come in many varieties and shapes, all tasting about the same to me. I have grown the odd ones, only to have people say, "What is that?"

Like carrots, we eat the roots of the plant. We can let radishes bold  and form their seed pods. The pods are radishy in flavor but taste milder.

Radish seed pods will fool most people. "I can eat that? Really?"

Some seed catalogs offer fun plants to grow, such as giant beets originally raised for cattle. The mangel-wurzel can weigh about 50 pounds, and some people like to eat the improved variety. I grew some for rabbits and they declined the honor.

Mangel wurzel - not catching on in the States.

I like Atlantic Giant pumpkins because even the small ones are large and homely. The leaves are more like umbrellas. Our helper is worried about some weeds in the sunny garden. The pumpkins will shade them out as soon as they get their growth.

The robin was working in a driving rain today, enjoying no competition for the worms.

Fuller-trained Jim Huebner came to Columbus at the instigation of Rich Krause--who was earning his union DMin under the supervision of Larry Olson. Huebner, like all the WELS officials, considered Floyd a victim of persecution.


Why did Doctrinal Pussycat Robert Mueller, VP Kuske, and the Michigan District pastors do nothing about Stolzenburg? The Columbus pastors almost had a cow when I suggested showing some friendship to Rev. Steve Archer, who was the legitimate called pastor at Emmanuel before Floyd got hired for a year to replace him. Floyd failed to tell his buddies on the Michigan District praesidium that he only had a provisional job for a year. It is ironic when liars are startled by lies from a brother wolf.

All this happened before the Bill Clinton scandals and the Roman Catholic Church priestly debacle. So, was I surprised about the cover-ups with either one? Not at all.

Step One
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg was forced to resign, for cause, from the LCMS ministerium and from his call at Salem in Florissant, Missouri. 1984.
Source: the District President who forced the resignation and preached for Floyd the next day. Other details were added by: Dr. J. A. O. Preus; Pastor Herman Otten; Floyd's assistant pastor; and a conservative LCMS pastor in Milwaukee.

Separation agreement, July 24, 1986. Floyd Luther Stolzenburg and Jane Dorothy Stolzenburg. Sole care, custody and control of the minor children given to Jane.

Lawsuit filed by Alvin E. Wendt, plaintiff, against Reverend Floyd Stolzenburg, 243 S. Stanwood Road, Bexley, Ohio, 43209; Salem Lutheran Church, 5180 Parker Road, Florissant, Missouri, 63033; The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, 1333 S. Kirkwood Road, St. Louis, Misouri, 63122. FS left Salem Dec 15, 1984 "19. Stolzenburg continues to hold an improper influence over Plaintiff's wife through Stolzenburg's affirmative acts of writing letters, sending gifts, and making phone calls to Vicki Wendt." p. 3.
In the Circuit Court of the County of St. Louis, Missouri.

Step Two

Floyd was promoting the Church Growth Movement at St. Paul, German Village, Columbus.

"IT'S COLOSSAL! IT'S GIGANTIC! IT'S SPECTACULAR! A PERSONAL NOTE FROM
WM. J. BRITTON, RE: CHURCH GROWTH SEMINAR, FEB. 24-25, 1985. Registration is
347! We prayed for response - the Lord gave it to us!...Win Arn says, 'We are
not here to make you work harder, but only to help you work smarter.'"
CG Conference, attended by St. Paul, Columbus, members and pastor.

46 from St. Paul's attended the Win Arn Church Growth seminar, including Floyd Stolzenburg, George Skestos, Vicar Mike Nitz, etc. March and April, 1985.

Stolzenburg Taught Church Growth at St. Paul, German Village.

"WELCOME TO CHURCH GROWTH. Our study is designed to help all of us gain a new perspective of what God has always had in mind for His Church. Church Growth is not new." Floyd L. Stolzenburg, "What the Bible Says about CHURCH GROWTH," Taught at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Columbus, Ohio p. 1.

"We have discovered that the Early Church was an institution that unknowingly saw its world through Church Growth eyes. We have some benefits they did not have in that we can look back today and analyze their successes and failures."
Floyd L. Stolzenburg, "Church Growth - the Acts of the Apostles," Taught at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Columbus, Ohio. [GJ - Doctrinal question: When did the Word of God ever fail? Floyd failed this question at a meeting and WELS kept him as a pseudo-pastor in his pseudo-pastoral position.]

"As you read, pick out the principles of Church Growth in this "FOCUS ON A GREAT CHURCH" (Acts 11:19-30)...11:26 tells us this studies the Word 'in great numbers.'How can we improve our numbers?"
Floyd L. Stolzenburg, "Church Growth - the Acts of the Apostles," Taught at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Columbus, Ohio January, 1986.

District VP Paul Kuske made sure Floyd was treated like a pastor and endorsed him in a letter for the Emanuel position. Kuske denied doing this, of course. Wink. Wink.

Step Three

Stolzenburg started looking for grants, because no church would hire him and no school system would let him work.

"He has served as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Charles, Missouri and Senior Pastor of Salem Lutheran Church in Florissant, Missouri...He is trained in the Bethel Bible Series, Church Growth program and Dialogue Evangelism. As a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Columbus, he now seeks a different form of Christian service, outside the pastoral office."
Floyd L. Stolzenburg, "The Homewood Church Enrichment Program."

"People Person: Have been recognized as a counselor and mediator. Brought harmony to what was once described as 'the most troubled Lutheran church in America. Personal: Born, December 6, 1941, Columbus. Married, three children. Spiritual gifts: Exhortation, teaching, administration and evangelism. Floyd Luther Stolzenburg 2904 Maryland Avenue Columbus, Ohio 43209-1157 614-235-5200.

Lutheran Parish Resources

"In the autumn of 1985 and the winter of 1985-1986, a truly momentous step was taken by the five Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) congregations in the metropolitan area of Columbus, Ohio. The five pastors and lay representatives of those churches organized and incorporated Lutheran Parish Resources, Inc., the first Church Growth institute in the WELS." David G. Peters, "Lutheran Parish Resources: Pilot Program in Church Growth," Mequon: Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, April 27, 1987 p. 1.

"Lutheran Parish Resources, Inc. (LPR) is dedicated to the concepts of the Church Growth movement only insofar as they agree with the Scriptures and as taught by the WELS--that is, Church Growth with Lutheran theology rather than Evangelical, and without the typical Church Growth emphasis on quantitative measurement of growth. Kent R. Hunter's definition of 'Church Growth' justifies the use of this term in describing LPR: 'Church Growth: That science which investigates the nature, function and health of Christian churches as they relate specifically to the effective implementation of God's commission to make disciples of all peoples (Matt. 28:19). Church Growth is simultaneously a theological conviction and an applied science,....' Foundations for Church Growth, p. 187.
David G. Peters, "Lutheran Parish Resources: Pilot Program in Church Growth," Mequon: Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, April 27, 1987 p. 1.

"CHURCH GROWTH. This program was basically the beginning of L.P.R. at St. Paul's. Certainly a church growth consciousness exists in all of the congregations which was not there four years ago. It is also evident that most of the congregations are not really willing to make church growth a major priority of their ministry. Some new people who visit our churches are turned off by the comments of church members. It would seem that many members will 'tolerate' growth if it does not upset the church's traditions."
Floyd Stolzenburg, Consultant's Annual Report, 1-12-89 Lutheran Parish Resources. [GJ - Kuske denied that LPR had anything to do with Church Growth. In Sheepshead, that is called mollering, but in WELS, it is called Muellering.]

"...Your share of Floyd's accommodations..." [Floyd Stolzenburg leading the Buckeye Circuit LWMS retreat]
Buckeye Circuit LWMS December 10, 1989.

"Most pastors and members do not seem willing to pay the price for growth and new life."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Consultant's Annual Report, 1-12-89 Lutheran Parish Resources

"The area L.W.M.S. annual retreat has been created and led by L.P.R. General successes in this area have been very positive."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Consultant's Annual Report, 1-12-89 Lutheran Parish Resources.

"There is a strong feeling of strength in tradition. Even non-doctrinal issues bring fear to the membership and an unwillingness on the part of staff to 'buck the system.' In a church that opposes other groups who trust in traditions, are we raising 'We've always done it that way' to the level of Scripture? Is it possible for our faith to be exciting and still be traditional?"
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Consultant's Annual Report, 1-12-89 Lutheran Parish Resources.

"In the doctrinal sense, the word 'fellowship' may have hindered some growth by the fear of new techniques and ministries. There seems to be an openness to new programs but also a fear that such new ideas may destroy some facets of the doctrine of church fellowship. Will that inevitably happen?"
Floyd Stolzenburg, Consultant's Annual Report, 1-12-89 Lutheran Parish Resources.

Pilgrim Community Church

"A major part of LPR involvement currently centers around assistance with Beautiful Savior's establishment of a new experimental mission on the west side. Named 'Pilgrim Community Church' by the committee from Grove City, the new congregation will maintain solid Lutheran doctrine without an up front emphasis on the Lutheran name. All materials identify sponsorship by Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church." [note: in very, very small print] On the same page, artwork for the area Reformation service at St. Paul's: "STANDING WHERE LUTHER STOOD"
LPR UPDATE October, 1989.

"L.P.R. is due to play a major role in the West Side Mission." [Pilgrim Community Church]
Floyd Stolzenburg, Consultant's Annual Report, 1-12-89 Lutheran Parish Resources

"Initial services will be less formal than our traditional worship services. LPR Director Roger Zehms has been requested by Beautiful Savior to serve as pastor of the new mission with Floyd Stolzenburg serving as evangelist and music consultant. Please include this new approach project in your prayers."
LPR UPDATE October, 1989. [GJ - I prayed all the time about Pilgrim, and my prayers were answered when three (3) people showed up for worship there.]

"Mr. Floyd Stolzenburg will serve under Rev Zehms providing such services as are appropriate for a person who is not 'CRM.' As a layperson Mr. Stolzenburg can under appropriate supervision do anything that a layman in your congregation can. -- We also reject any inference that Pastor Zehms will not be able to stand up to pressure from Mr. Stolzenburg, or from the donor who provides the funds for LPR. -- We also question the procedure in which the reason for Mr. Stolzenburg's resignation has been broadcast, even though the issues had been addressed by LPR." [GJ - Not true. People were told Floyd had a Scriptural divorce, that the divorce was the fault of his first wife.]
Pastor Paul Kuske Letter to the Ohio Conference Pilgrim Community Church, sponsored from Grove City by Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church Fall Conference, Gibsonia, 1989

"The administrative committee has applied to Lutheran Parish Resources for the services of Rev Roger Zehms. This application is the equivalent of a (limited) call. The committee has also applied for the services of Mr. Floyd Stolzenburg to act in a supportive role in the mission. Both of these applications have been approved."
Pastor Paul Kuske Letter to the Ohio Conference Pilgrim Community Church, sponsored from Grove City by Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church Fall Conference, Gibsonia, 1989

“I think it was the last letter I wrote you in which I said 'It would be a disaster if you left the ministerium of the synod.' I retract the entire letter. I have owed you great debts in the past. I consider them all discharged by the times I have protected you from the consequences of your own bad decisions. I'm not going to run interference anymore. Suffer your own consequences hereafter. Speaking of consequences, I have never heard, or heard of, one of our brethren getting a public reprimand in writing such as the one Kuske gave. I wonder who Kuske was talking about." [The reference is to Kuske's remarks supporting Floyd Stolzenburg and Pilgrim Community Church.]
Pastor Roger Kovaciny, Letter to Gregory Jackson, October 17, 1989.

"Are pastor's (sic) bound by the 8th Commandment? LPR knew about Floyd's background from the beginning. What right did Pastor Jackson have to assume that we were being duped? What right did Pastor Jackson have to investigate, without even asking people at LPR about their knowledge? What right did Pastor Jackson have spreading this investigative information to the young pastors of the Ohio Conference? What right did he have to spread it to the DMB?"

[GJ - I was not told the truth about Floyd being removed from the LCMS ministerium, neither by Paul Kuske, who led the call meeting at Shepherd of Peace, nor by Wally Oelhafen, who discussed the call with me. The mission counselor and others were told that Floyd had a Scriptural divorce. Pastors are supposed to protect their congregations from wolves, but the truth makes enemies, as Walther has said in Law and Gospel.]
Paul Kuske, Letter to Michigan District Mission Board, April 21, 1990 p. 8.

Kuske and Schumann Helped Floyd Get Himself Another Church

"I would also convey to you that I will continue to commune lodge members as long as I feel assured that they know and believe that their salvation is by faith.""Please feel free to contact Pastors Kuske or Schumann or come and hear for yourself."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg Letter to Emmanuel, 9-20-91, Lutheran Parish Resources letterhead "Serving the congregations of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod"

"The church has not wavered from its theology: The Bible is the inerrant word of God, and everything in it is to be taken literally. Stolzenburg's theology is uncompromising. 'What is written in the Bible stands.'" [GJ - hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!]
Sylvia Brooks, South Side Lutheran Church Goes Its Own Way, Columbus Dispatch, August, 9, 1998 p. 2C.

"Consultant, Lutheran Parish Resources, Inc., Columbus, Ohio, 1985-1991, as a consultant for this program, I worked with the training of pastors and lay people for effective ministry in leadership skills, Sunday School organization and teaching, youth ministry, outreach, stewardship and care ministry. I continue to work with supervision of some of these programs. Senior Pastor, Salem Lutheran Church and School, Florissant, Missouri, 1976-1985. (nothing said about being removed from the ministry) Pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church and School, St. Charles, Missouri, 1968-1976. Floyd Luther Stolzenburg 2904 Maryland Avenue Columbus, Ohio 43209-1157 614-235-5200.

ELS Happy To Be in Fellowship with Stolzenburg

"Pastor Kovaciny, obviously excited about the possibilities, has agreed that the new church would be named Emmanuel Lutheran and would have a picture of the 'mother church' prominently displayed in the new building." Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Columbus, Ohio #899 for August, 1999 1500 South Third Street Columbus, Ohio 43207 $50,000 to be raised

"In the midst of all the positive, exciting things Pastor Kovaciny had to say about the mission work being done in the Ukraine, he constantly mentioned the most pressing problem, a lack of space...As he spoke to us about the many needs, he mentioned the possibility of building achurch of the approximate square footage of our sanctuary (though not nearly as elaborate) for $50,000...Pastor Kovaciny, obviously excited about the possibility, has agreed that the new church would be named Emmanuel Lutheran and would have a picture of the 'mother church' prominently displayed in the new building."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, "From the Mission Committee, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Kremnetz, Ukraine, Emmanuel Lutheran Church #899, August, 1999 1500 South Third Street, Columbus, Ohio 43207-1000

"About Missions" c. Thoughts of Faith through the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, d. St. Sophia Lutheran Seminary-Ukraine
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio August, 1996

"Pastor Kovaciny, in an effort to respond to our request, sent a copy of the third quarter treasurer's report of the Ukrainian congregation, signed by the treasurer and written in his own hand. We thought you might enjoy seeing it! You should be aware that our budget offering goes to pay for Pastor Kovaciny's salary and expenses through 'Thoughts of Faith,' the radio ministry which has been bringing the Gospel to the Ukraine for many years...." Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone, Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio January, 1995.

"EMMANUEL SAVES BIBLE SCHOOL! A SPECIAL MESSAGE was just received from Pastor Kovaciny to let us know that Emmanuel's Mission offerings have rescued their Bible School this summer!...[Pastor Kovaciny] writes to tell us about it. 'As we looked forward to an even more successful program this coming summer, we were told by our sponsoring organization that our Bible School budget had been cut by $8,000. It seems that some people in charge believe that we have been too successful and they need to put their funds toward programs in other areas which are lagging behind.' (Pastor Kovaciny)"
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio June 1998.

"From the Mission Committee...Good News from the Ukraine Reproduced at the bottom of this page is the masthead from the Ukrainian Lutheran, which has now been published by our mission in Ukraine for two years and grows in circulation with each issue." Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio November 1996

"All designated funds for Thoughts of Faith are spent on the program for which they are designated by the donor. Funds not designated by the donor are used to pay for administrative expenses. Thoughts of Faith would like to thank our congregation for our support towards this important work in spreading the gospel throughout the world." Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone, Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio November, 1995 Recording secretary, Christine E. Scheiderer; treasurer, Charlotte Proctor. Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone, Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio November, 1995.

"...the Ukraine project of Thoughts of Faith (Pastor Kovaciny)" Use of mission funds. Charlotte Proctor, treasurer Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone, Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio November, 1995 "I

"Since the salary of Pastor Kovaciny and their basic expenses are paid through the 'Thoughts of Faith' ministry, we will continue to include the overall work in our regular budget." Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone, Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio October, 1994 Roger Kovaciny's letter about seed distribution Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone, Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio October, 1995

Calov is no longer being cited as a UOJ Stormtrooper. I found this quotation in Robert Preus'Justification and Rome.

Mulch turning into compost, feeding the soil - that is quite a story.

The wooden fragments begin to change as soon as they rest on the surface of the lawn or garden.

Mold and bacteria attack. The mulch absorbs nitrogen to help its own decay. Soil creatures, emboldened by the darkness and moisture above, rise up to devour the mulch and blend it into soil.

God wrote the software that runs our physical world. All things were created through Him. Nothing was created apart from Him - the Logos - the Creating Word - Jesus.

The Wormhaven Gardening Book shows that by understanding Creation we can garden cheaply and easily, letting God's governance produce the best flowers and food.

These reactions in nature simply have to happen because of divine design. The wood has to rot on top of soil, absorbing nitrogen, giving it back as it finishes its transformation. The mold, bacteria, and soil creatures are compelled to do their duty, to take their turn, to work without complaint so we can enjoy their labor.



Spiritual Rules
God's Creation includes spiritual matters. Just as rain and snow necessarily have an effect in God's plan, so does His Word.

The bankrupt view of the Scriptures makes every confession a matter of opinion. It depends on how people feel about it - purely subjective.

Willow Creek Community Church patented this approach and bragged about it. LCMS and WELS sent their dimmest dimwits there for training - and it worked. Nature abhors a vacuum, so their empty heads were quickly filled with user-friendliness, marketing concepts, and demographics. Instead of studying the Word, they studied graphs, charts, and zip codes.

If God determines the length of day by the earth's rotation, He also determines how we are forgiven, no matters what Uncle Fritz wrote in a conference essay.

If the rules of Creation cannot be set aside - except for miracles - then one cannot take the plain Word and make it say something else about forgiveness.

The Holy Spirit clearly teaches the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace. And yet the toadies of Walther want us to think that the Reformation established justification without faith as the Gospel. Just as Walther had to be the abusive bishop's toady, so the Walther toadies have to surround themselves with equally subservient toadies.

Glende and Ski stopped at the Crab Pot while attending the Mark Driscoll conference. Mark is the potty-mouthed preacher who brags about the "corpses" left by his abusive cult.

Setting aside faith in Christ as irrelevant for justification and salvation, these wolves will promote anything that fills their bellies. They know a lot more about salivation than salvation.

Lutheran leaders have lost their nerve when it comes to teaching the Faith. That can be clearly seen by the 99.9% teaching justification without faith and viewing the fruit of their false doctrine.

If you do not believe what I say about their dogma, then look at the results.

Theological illiterates like Jay Webber and Jon-Boy Buchholz imagine that Ambrose teaches UOJ.

The cradle roll at Christ the Rock, where Ski reigns supreme now.

Rocking out for Jesus!! Amazing song! Amazing grace! Keep faith hope and love! Thank you Koine for helping keep the fire going reminding us of Christ's love and work for our salvation through God's Word in song!


Here is the Facebook link for Koine. They were so loud that one youth's ears were ringing the rest of the day.

Confidential to the deaf Koine players - you are damaging the hearing of thousands with your cacophony.

We know you cannot hear or you would resign from rock and give back your $3,000 fees.

The Michigander writes:

The bird posts and flower posts combining care and feeding and doctrine are excellent.  They are becoming my favorites.  I have a bird question.

Are your feeders close to windows?  Mine are some 7 feet front the living room window and birds keep flying into the window pane.  Some learn that's not the direction to leave the feeders, some don't.  I wonder, with the feeders were closer to the window, if the birds would not fly away toward the window.  Or should the feeders be farther away from the house, spoiling the viewing prospects?

***

GJ - I am guessing that the birds, after feeding, see the sky in the reflection in the windows. They fly into the image. When my windows had a mirror effect in Phoenix, from a reflective film, we had quite a few bird strikes.

I keep feeders close to the window. They get used to flying there for rest and a snack. In the summer the feeder is empty because the starlings and squirrels eat everything. In Bella Vista I had so many feeders going at once that driving up to the house was like arriving at a bird sanctuary. That was ideal for birds, since we had a creek, a lawn, bushes, and oak trees - all convenient for their food and housing.

I will use a lot of suet for the winter, since fat-eating birds are also insect-eaters. I will hang a number of mesh bags on trees if I can get suet for a good price and the raccoons do not feast on them.

For now I am growing sunflowers in three different places. I enjoy watching them grow so tall (except for the Japanese one-footers) and turn into seedheads of massive size.

Writing about Creation and doctrine is easy, because so many illustrations from the Bible are based upon common knowledge of the natural world.

Mark's Gospel is known for the seed growing secretly parable - the only passage truly unique to Mark.

Malabar spinach is good for soups.

• It might as well be fairly large, because there will never be enough of it when finished - perhaps five feet high and seven feet across. I enclose mine in chicken-wire. Other designs require more labor.
• Compost should be in the shade as much as possible.
• The materials rest on bare soil or sod, because the soil creatures climb into the pile as required - or as designed by the Creator.
• Good materials include anything that has been alive, but not meat. Food garbage will attract bigger animals, unless it is just leafy leftovers. Kids - help the compost with your stewed, creamed spinach. 
• Animal manures are good, except for cat and dog offerings, which may host organisms that spread to humans. 
• Fresh green materials like grass are hot - warming up the compost fast and starting the process. Weeds can go in, and their seeds will be killed if everything is done well. I would put in dandelions, which are really an herb, but not witchgrass. Some interesting flowers will spread through compost if they are put in. Feverfew is one.
• Dead leaves are great in compost but do not heat up. Some mix green stuff with leaves. I toss it all in together.
• Soil can be added in layers, since it is alive with bacteria, molds, and soil creatures. Soil has the effect of sanitizing rot and suppressing bad aromas.
• I put a few rotten fruits in the compost from time to time, but I fire them into the soft inner core of leaves, so we do not create a village dump aroma. A rotten apple is mostly water and will help keep the compost moist and the creatures of rot happy. "You eat my apple, but centipedes will eat you. Bwa-ha-ha."
• Here are the denizens of compost - a great chart from Cornell.

Invertebrates of the Compost Pile

• In small-scale outdoor composting systems, such as backyard compost piles, soil invertebrates are likely to contribute to the decomposition process. Together with bacteria, fungi, and other microbes, these organisms make up a complex food web or energy pyramid with primary, secondary, and tertiary level consumers. The base of the pyramid, or energy source, is made up of organic matter including plant and animal residues.
  
  

  Tertiary Consumers (organisms that eat secondary consumers) centipedes, predatory mites, rove beetles, fomicid ants, carabid beetles

  Secondary Consumers (organisms that eat primary consumers) springtails, some types of mites, feather-winged beetles nematodes, protozoa, rotifera, soil flatworms

  Primary Consumers (organisms that eat organic residues) bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, nematodes, some types of mites, snails, slugs, earthworms, millipedes, sowbugs, whiteworms

  Organic Residues leaves, grass clippings, other plant debris, food scraps, fecal matter and animal bodies including those of soil invertebrates

  
  As you can see in this pyramid, organic residues such leaves or other plant materials are eaten by some types of invertebrates such as millipedes, sow bugs, snails and slugs. These invertebrates shred the plant materials, creating more surface area for action by fungi, bacteria, and actinomycetes (a group of organisms intermediate between bacteria and true fungi), which are in turn eaten by organisms such as mites and springtails.
  Many kinds of worms, including earthworms, nematodes, red worms and potworms eat decaying vegetation and microbes and excrete organic compounds that enrich compost. Their tunneling aerates the compost, and their feeding increases the surface area of organic matter for microbes to act upon. As each decomposer dies or excretes, more food is added to web for other decomposers.
  Nematodes: These tiny, cylindrical, often transparent microscopic worms are the most abundant of the physical decomposers - a handful of decaying compost contains several million. It has been estimated that one rotting apple contains 90,000. Under a magnifying lens they resemble fine human hair.
  Some species scavenge on decaying vegetation, some feed on bacteria, fungi, protozoa and other nematodes, and some suck the juices of plant roots, especially root vegetables.
  Mites: Mites are the second most common invertebrate found in compost. They have eight leg-like jointed appendages. Some can be seen with the naked eye and others are microscopic. Some can be seen hitching rides on the back of other faster moving invertebrates such as sowbugs, millipedes and beetles. Some scavenge on leaves, rotten wood, and other organic debris. Some species eat fungi, yet others are predators and feed on nematodes, eggs, insect larvae and other mites and springtails. Some are both free living and parasitic. One very common compost mite is globular in appearance, with bristling hairs on its back and red-orange in color.
  Springtails: Springtails are extremely numerous in compost. They are very small wingless insects and can be distinguished by their ability to jump when disturbed. They run in and around the particles in the compost and have a small spring-like structure under the belly that catapults them into the air when the spring catch is triggered. They chew on decomposing plants, pollen, grains, and fungi. They also eat nematodes and droppings of other arthropods and then meticulously clean themselves after feeding.
  Earthworms: Earthworms do the lion's share of the decomposition work among the larger compost organisms. They are constantly tunneling and feeding on dead plants and decaying insects during the daylight hours. Their tunneling aerates the compost and enables water, nutrients and oxygen to filter down. "As soil or organic matter is passed through an earthworm's digestive system, it is broken up and neutralized by secretions of calcium carbonate from calciferous glands near the worm's gizzard. Once in the gizzard, material is finely ground prior to digestion. Digestive intestinal juices rich in hormones, enzymes, and other fermenting substances continue the breakdown process. The matter passes out of the worm's body in the form of casts, which are the richest and finest quality of all humus material. Fresh casts are markedly higher in bacteria, organic material, and available nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium than soil itself." (Rodale)
  Slugs and snails (left): Slugs and snails generally feed on living plant material but will attack fresh garbage and plant debris and will therefore appear in the compost heap.
  Centipedes (right): Centipedes are fast moving predators found mostly in the top few inches of the compost heap. They have formidable claws behind their head which possess poison glands that paralyze small red worms, insect larvae, newly hatched earthworms, and arthropods - mainly insects and spiders. To view a QuickTime movie of the centipede click on this image
  
  
  Millipedes: They are slower and more cylindrical than centipedes and have two pairs of appendages on each body segment. They feed mainly on decaying plant tissue but will eat insect carcasses and excrement.
  
  Sow Bugs (right): Sow Bugs are fat bodied crustaceans with delicate plate-like gills along the lower surface of their abdomens which must be kept moist. They move slowly grazing on decaying vegetation.
  
  Beetles (left): The most common beetles in compost are the rove beetle, ground beetle and feather-winged beetle. Feather-winged beetles feed on fungal spores, while the larger rove and ground beetles prey on other insects, snails, slugs and other small animals.
  
  Ants: Ants feed on aphid honey-dew, fungi, seeds, sweets, scraps, other insects and sometimes other ants. Compost provides some of these foods and it also provides shelter for nests and hills. Ants may benefit the compost heap by moving minerals especially phosphorus and potassium around by bringing fungi and other organisms into their nests.
  Flies: During the early stages of the composting process, flies provide ideal airborne transportation for bacteria on their way to the pile. Flies spend their larval phase in compost as maggots, which do not survive thermophilic temperatures. Adults feed upon organic vegetation.
  Spiders: Spiders feed on insects and other small invertebrates.
  Pseudoscorpions: Pseudoscorpions are predators which seize victims with their visible front claws, then inject poison from glands located at the tips of the claws. Prey include minute nematode worms, mites, larvae, and small earthworms.
  Earwigs: Earwigs are large predators, easily seen with the naked eye. They move about quickly. Some are predators. Others feed chiefly on decayed vegetation.

In the classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers, everyone looks the same. However, the pod people have taken over  various human bodies and continue to spread their menace by looking innocent. The normal ones warn the rest, but soon the unpodded get absorbed into the new weird order.



Here is the key description:

The invaders replace human beings with duplicates that appear identical on the surface, but are devoid of emotion or individuality. Wikipedia

I have a list of pod Lutherans who once thought publishing the truth was a good idea. They contributed a lot of material, then began hissing and acting odd.

Men in Black, another classic sci-fi movie, argues persuasively that key people are from other planets, identifying Newt Gingrich as one. Tony Robbins is from Jupiter, as I recall.

I look at the denominations and wonder why no one is running around in circles, hair on fire. The Episcopalians elected a Presiding Bishop with almost no parish or executive experience. She began immediately to sue congregations to grab their properties, naming bishops and laity, but using church money to drive people out and shutter their once-prosperous congregations. The bishops resisted a bit, but enough to stop PB Katie Schori.

A total of four Canadian and US Episcopal/Lutheran groups - Three unqualified women are running them into the ground.

ELCA has done the same with ELCA's Mark Hanson and soon with Elizabeth Eaton, who sent him packing. Like her hero Katie Schorie, Eaton has little experience, but a powerful faction behind her.

But the so-called conservative Lutherans really astonish me. They are actively dismembering everything while calling themselves confessional and even orthodox! They may fuss about something once or twice, but go along with it as soon as the tide turns.

My explanation goes deeper than Universal Objective Justification, that bizarre dogma excreted from Halle University as it declined into pure rationalism and honest Universalist Unitarianism.



Apostasy Originated with Creation Deniers and City Slickers
Which is worse - Creation deniers or city slickers? I have fun with undergraduates who have little appreciation for the natural world. Although they are Christian and confess the truth of the Scriptures, their practical knowledge of their own world is limited.

America was once a rural country, where a large share of the population lived from the land. They had to know animals, weather, soil, crops, weeds, insects, and disease to survive. My maternal grandfather earned a degree in agriculture from the University of Illinois. My paternal grandfather was also a farmer. 

As a result of her farming background and interest in science, my mother knew the weeds, butterflies, insects, spiders, and wildflowers of each area where she lived. As a Blackhawk hiking club member, she had additional mentors in nature as they explored new areas. Three of those hikers reached the ages of 90, 95, and 105. 

Most of the parables and sermons of Jesus are based upon Creation.

• The Sower and the Seed
• The Mustard Seed
• The Seed Growing Secretly
• The Tares
• The True Vine
• The Good Shepherd, Psalm 23, and Isaiah 40
• The Leaven Hidden in a Lump of Dough
• Birds of the air, flowers of the field - Sermon on the Mount
• Fig tree
• Fish caught in a net
• Sending rain on the just and unjust, Isaiah 55, etc.

When people lose touch with the world created by the Word, they fail to see the connection in the Word of God.

The Good Shepherd loses some meaning when the members do not know about sheep, except from a petting zoo.



Sow abundantly, from Paul, must be alien to most people. When I buy seed by the pound, they say, "Why so much?" I had our pool area in Phoenix covered in zinnias, the desert rose, because I found a large, inexpensive supply of them. I remember old Precious sitting in the zinnias, watching us swim. Shelties are shepherding dogs that shepherd their owners whether asked to or not.

When I planted pounds of edible pod peas, we had enough and to spare - and even far too much. We ate peas. Our rabbits ate pea vines. Our friends came over to harvest peas. I cut dragon's talons (end of the vines) for a Hong Kong couple. "Are you sure? Do you know how valuable these are in Hong Kong?" They were a bit shy and embarrassed over getting so much - and the pea vines thrived on the harvesting and cutting.

The pod people have replaced faith with human reason. Luther was a gardener.

LI modeled my plan for watering the garden - at Niagara Falls.

Every so often the perfect photo from childhood survives. I liked this so much that I had posters made for the grandparents - long before Facebook.

I asked Mrs. I if she wanted spinach. She said yes, so that meant I had to go out and plant my new Malabar spinach vines. They produce enormous leaves and love heat.

Rain is on the way, but I watered everything anyway. Long ago I learned that the second stage of gardening is watering the seedlings. Planting the seed is not enough. The seedlings are quite vulnerable when they are starting, so I find it best to keep them well watered.

The ground was protected by rank weed growth, around the chain-link fence, so I had to cut and dig and rake. I created some broken ground where I sowed pole beans, Malabar spinach vines, and radishes. I put MiracleGro soil on top and tamped it down.

Soil in a bag is going to win over digging soil into a wheelbarrow - any day. Besides, I have no wheelbarrow.

The new sunflower row got mulch on top, to reduce weeds around the sunflower and hold in the water. I noticed that the alternate rows of mulch were still moist underneath the top layer. The newspapers were still soaked.

Sunflowers apparently send out a root chemical to suppress competition, so they take care of their own area well. I have tried to grow pole beans up their stalks, without any real success. Their broad leaves can effectively eliminate smaller plants that need sunlight.

Sassy Sue supervised my work, but only after a walk. She sat there barking at me until I gave in. She went outside for one reason only, and she seemed to think I tricked her. We went for a walk and came back to play with her squeaky ball. She had renewed her interest in chasing and catching her ball, so we cleared more of the limbs in the backyard.

We have a good gardening area in the back,

You can never have too much compost, too much mulch, or too many gardening books.

We stopped at our big mall today, so I went to the bookstore to drink coffee and check out new books. Instead, I found an old favorite - Let It Rot, by Stu Campbell.

I remembered the contents, almost word for word. I used Let It Rot - and many other books - to write The Wormhaven Gardening Book.

I lost my typewritten notes, rewrote the entire set, and found the originals when the notes were completed a second time. However, that proved to me that going over the same material one more time could create a synthesis that I missed before.

Today, I learned three new things about earthworms that made sense, based on my experience.

1. Newsprint Fanciers
One is that earthworms are especially good at attacking newsprint, which does not decompose easily, due to its lignin content. Lignin is the tough part of the cell, and earthworms love it.

Leave a stack of newspapers outside on the grass and they they will have a family reunion underneath.

I had a stump left on a concrete set of steps in Midland. When I finally moved the stump, about five plump earthworms were dwelling in peace and harmony beneath, with nothing more than wood to eat.

ELCA's failing seminary in Chicago bought compost tumblers and sanctified them to the cause of Mother Earth.

2. Cows Grazing on Bacteria
The second new/old fact concerns a description of the earthworm as "a cow grazing on bacteria." That explains why they get along so well in manure and reduce it so well. Bacteria are mostly protein, and earthworms are mostly muscle. The common element is nitrogen, the building block of all life, plant and animal.

All the soil/compost creatures also work to eliminate pathogens and toxins.

3. Temperature Zones for Bacteria
Composters get obsessed with their pile of debris heating up. Buy a compost thermometer! Buy the Ace Compost Tumbler to heat up the compost faster!

Various bacteria work in three different zones. The cold weather ones can work all winter, but they impart heat on the pile by digesting food, just as we do. Each human gives off as much heat as a light bulb.

Even in the freezer, bacteria increase in ice cream over time - reason enough to eat it quickly.

If the cold weather bacteria work too well, they warm it up for the mid-range bacteria. So the cold ones go away and the mid-range guys take over. As you might have guessed, the mid-range bacteria can repeat this and turn the work over to the heat-loving bacteria.

Thus God created bacteria for each kind of composting. A leaf pile may not warm up that much, because it lacks a concentration of nitrogen. Still, it will rot away in time, as my two years of leaves have shown. I have put in enough for three piles but they have reduced to 1/2 bin full.

This gardener has layered soil, grass, and straw. I only put leaves in mine, because I mulch the grass back into the lawn.

Some gardening books are just plain wrong about the simplest facts, with these errors repeated as people borrow their phony research.

Some are misled by modernism, spending time and trouble to defeat Creation while glorying in nature. Big machines must be better. If I buy one, I have to use it - and repair it.

My helper and I laid down newspaper and mulch and created an instant veggie garden, with only the alternate rows to be dug by hand. That took $20 in mulch and $0 in newspapers. All over the yard, sod is rotting under the mulch and feeding the plants

I read research tonight that tilling decimates the earthworm population, the very souls that decrease soil erosion with their constant tunneling. More farmers have moved to no-till and low-till for that reason and other considerations.

Farmers and gardeners value manure. An earthworm produces his own weight in castings every day. "That is so tiny, insignificant," say the scoffers. A ton of worms produces a ton of castings each day. As I recall, that is easily the weight of the worms in one acre of grassland. The numbers can be much higher. Anything that will produce that much improvement to the soil - for free - is going to be on Team Jackson, Garden Division.

Man's solo efforts with the soil are just like his work with the Word of God, when he imagines it belongs to him.

Some farm plots have turned to concrete from excess tilling and heavy use of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides. The soil dies and is no longer an ocean of life. In contrast, organic soil teems with creatures of all sizes and tasks, yet they work together in perfect harmony.

When man attacks the Word of God with human reason, he employs the same decimating skills. He makes up rules about the text and says, "Aha, that verse has to go." And he decides that the poor foolish disciples could not have been literate. Paul was literate, they allow, but he was a woman-hating obsessive kook. Worse, they tell everyone how they will improve their beloved church. They rip out the pipe organs to make room for coffee bars and ticky-tacky bands. Finding discord in doctrine, they avoid such trivia, in favor of the generics of love, joy, and fund-raising. Unable to write a sermon about what they do not believe, they steal the words of other apostates.

Gruss an Aachen - Greetings to Aachen, a beautiful rose that tolerates shade.

Our neighbor asked to sit in the rose viewing platform with Mrs. I yesterday. The ladies sat on the porch, an elevated concrete pad, and had a great conversation.

Our neighbor needs their lawn mowed, so our helper will have more work. That couple will have a neat lawn again. Kids no longer ask, "Do you want your lawn mowed. Need your sidewalks shoveled?" My grandchildren volunteer to rake leaves, and they like earning money in helping out. They are from another age.

Green kale is full of vitamin C, K, and A, calcium, and fiber.

Our helper is excited about the next garden expansions. One is to create the second garden, stage left, out the back door. That will grow vegetables. Chris wants kale, which she loved before it became popular. I have dug green kale out from under snow drifts - and it very nutritious.

The second expansion is for Gruss an Aachen around the base of the maple tree in front. I have already put solar lighting on the tree, which was easy to do.

The gardening neighbor and I regularly discuss our plans and methods.

One of the best books I read on organic gardening came from the Midland Library - Compost Gardening by Shewell-Cooper. Once I caught his message, the follies of osterizer gardening were laid bare.

The British are at their best in writing about military history and gardening. They boast of lawns that have been managed for 700 years. They love gardening. I read the profile of the typical 17th century English gentleman. That included joking and gardening. I said to Mrs. I - "That's the English in me." In fact, the whole profile read like a bio.

Germans are also great gardeners, but the British enjoy being quirky. The best joke of all is to garden contrary to trends and shock people with the results.

Shewell-Cooper did all his gardening the same way. He created vast compost heaps and only put them on the top of the soil, arguing that the earthworms would pull it down. He used compost to amend the soil and to serve as mulch. I do not have production facilities for bins of compost, so I reverse the process. I mulch to create compost on top.

Do not confuse the soil God created with cake dough mixed at high speed.

I recall a clergy friend bragging about mix-mastering autumn leaves into his garden each fall. I was appalled, but kept that to myself, except for brief interruptions of "But" and "Of course you..." He was enjoying his delirium.

Opinions do not matter in Creation gardening. The creating Word established rules for all time, which are only set aside for miracles, not for fads. The best soil is in the top 12 inches. Earthworms travel to the top to pull down debris, digesting organic material and depositing the casts on the surface or in their tunnels. There are many types of earthworms, and their digestive habits vary somewhat. They are united in their ability to chew tough material, digest it, grind it down in their tiny gizzards, and sweeten it with their calcium glands.

Picture the dormant garden in autumn. There is an abundance of leaves to cover it. If someone is blessed with indestructible sycamore leaves, he can mow them into fragments and mulch the entire area with fragments. What will happen next? The insulating and moisture holding leaf blanket will reduce the stray weeds and add them to the process. Sowbugs, pillbugs, centipedes, millipedes, spiders, mold, bacteria, and earthworms will begin their work.

During winter, the cold weather bacteria will continue to work. Protected by the blanket of warm organic material, the soil creatures will continue to work, weather permitting. Digestion creates warmth Snow makes bacterial work easier, since the crystals trap heat, as the Eskimos learned. Composting requires moisture, which is never lacking here during winter.

While others are pining for spring, the composting gardener is working all winter - or having it done for him. The foundation for all growth and nutrition is being laid by the soil creatures, especially when the workers are blanketed and protected by leaves, newspapers, garden trash, and lawn clippings.

What do people send away from their property? Stacks of newspapers, bags of leaves, and grass. They starve the soil and try to make it up with inorganic compounds.

Water conservation begins with adding humus (organic matter) to the soil. The humus is a gelatin-lie sponge that holds water and keeps the soil stuck together. When people see household trash as an investment in their soil, the results of gardening will change. The leaves, grass, and newspapers will disappear into the soil, and healthy soil will beg for more.

Creation gardening and doctrine.

Compost belongs on top, not mixed around.



Earthworms and newspaper and bacteria. Temperatures of compost bacteria.

Malabar spinach is a hot weather substitute for spinach.

When you pray for spinach, reach for a hoe.



Invasion of the body snatchers - one explanation for apostasy.

Radish seedpods taste good, a mild version of the hot root.

Young radishes.

Thunderstorms and radishes.



The engrafted Word - and rose grafts.

Cypress mulch.



The living seed.

Gruss an Aachen - Greetings to Aachen, Germany

Gruss an Aachen rose.



Garden birds.



Malabar spinach and earthworms. Uncle Jim's Earthworm Farm.



Worked soil and the efficacy of the Word.

Touch of Class hosta likes shade.

Hosta la vida loca.

Identifying plants by their fruits.

Critters and cold weather plants.



Various seeds to plant. The soaker hose.

Giant alium is a member of the garlic/onion family.

Sassy supervises the garden. Giant alium.

Sassy wanted to make me smile after refusing to pose with Ronald McDonald alone.

The Holy Trinity is a mystery revealed by the Holy Spirit. God's Creation by His Word is revealed the same way, but we can see Creation at work in our own lawns and gardens - and gutters.

The historic Jackson abode in Moline, Illinois was under the shade of a gigantic maple tree, which provided us endless leaves to rake and millions of helicopter seeds everywhere.

I remember looking up at the gutters and seeing them filled with healthy maple tree seedlings. They were doomed, one way or another, but they looked great.

One maple seedling we did not pull up in the yard was near the elm tree stump. We lost our elms in the Dutch elm holocaust. We routinely ran over the maple tree when mowing, but it kept coming back. Now it is full grown.

I examined our gutters in Springdale. They were filled with blackened goop, a combination of dead maple tree leaves and seeds, dust, and water. Both gutters were plugged with this mini-compost, so rain dripped on our heads instead of using the downspout.

God's Creation constantly renews itself, no matter what we imagine, and this management is far superior to ours.

God plants fish in newly formed ponds, by having fish eggs stick to water-loving birds. The birds air ship the eggs to new pond locations, and aquatic life flourishes.

When I planned ponds in our yard, in various homes, I learned that algae formation was essential. The only thing I needed was sunshine, and the pond water turned greenish. What we hate in the dog's watering tank outside is ideal for pond life. Algae is the foundation, but God grows it instantly.

Some land is so barren than only the worst weeds will grow on it at first. Those weeds either hold down the soil with shallow roots or mine minerals from below with tap roots. Weeds are prolific in all kinds of weather, so they leaves provide a bit of mulch and food for soil creatures. In time a weeded lot can renew itself. In fact, healthy weeds are a sign of productive soil.

Those who try to make the Kingdom of God a question of man's management are out of touch with Creation and the Scriptures. When man robs God of His glory by teaching against faith in Him, God spreads the Gospel in other places.

Some rationalists have engaged in a war against the Bible, only to be defeated by the power of Holy Spirit. If they are fair with the text - instead of just mocking it - they are compelled to see the inner consistency of the Word and its power to convert their flinty hearts.

Simon Greenleaf, as a lawyer, struggled to show all the contradictions in the Easter accounts of the Bible. Instead, the Easter accounts converted him - and he was a national legal expert on evidence.



Martin Luther had a perfect Medieval education. He was an Augustinian monk who memorized the Psalms as part of his spiritual work. He earned a doctorate (at a Catholic school!) in Biblical studies. But it was the Word that troubled him, always contradicting the Medieval doctrines he was compelled to teach and believe.

The power of the Gospel compelled him to reject works and teach justification by faith, in harmony with the Old and New Testaments.

The Protestant Revolt, as the Roman Catholics call it, actually rescued a corrupt and immoral religion from its self-inflicted wounds. The efficacious Word convinced much of Europe that justification by faith was correct, that the papal office was indeed the Antichrist.

I was looking over Facebook posts when I saw a long one on how disgusted some of my classmates were over the Supreme Court decision (Hobby Lobby).

They were not angry with the Supreme Court, but with "stupid" comments posted by people they knew.

I added this link to their thread Liberals Call for Burning Hobby Lobby.

"I am spending the majority of my time on Facebook hiding and deleting posts. I'm seriously thinking of going off for a while, because I have reached my limit of stupid!!"

Another:
" I just read a couple of words and move on. It isn't worth the effort to read some of the "stupid" unintelligent political stuff. It amazes me some of the nicest people are so politically dense, I don't need to raise my blood pressure. I will never be able to change their minds and I sure as heck won't change mine. I would never say some of the things they say about some of our leaders even if I don't like them so I just move on."

I have seen this reaction many times. As I wrote before, one version of it is called "jamming" by the gay activists. They stage a mass attack because something has irritated them. In my case, I quoted the activist who came out a few seconds after graduating from the WELS college called Martin Luther College.

Hobby Lobby Decision
I pointed out to a pro-life friend that the US Constitution does not mandate abortions, health care, or free sex. The Left dwells on their assumption of newly invented rights, which include the right to forcing companies to pay for their version of health care.

What grieves me is the refusal to consider another viewpoint, or even to read another perspective. Isn't that strange, to unfriend and delete posts from people who are pro-life? 

Naturally, this leads to a reaction that no one has a right to express an opinion that varies with the fad du jour of the Left, whatever that might be.

The only way to form a legitimate argument is to understand the opposing viewpoint, frame it as honestly as possible, and refute it with evidence.

I do not know how research can be done any other way.

"We found the rebel outpost, where they were posting Luther's sermons. The WELS/LCMS/ELS cults are safe again."

UOJ and Other Inanities
The UOJ Stormtroopers have operated the same way for years, but they are losing their grip - and their sanity.

When someone writes about justification by faith - or worse - the errors of Universal Justification Without Faith, they start jamming. Cult members send in the riot squads to stop the discussion.

The UOJ Stormtroopers never offer a fair description of justification by faith, which is unquestionably the position of Luther, Melanchthon, Chytraeus, Andreae, Chemnitz, Gerhard, Calov, and many others. More importantly, the Biblical position is exclusively justification by faith and never UOJ.

The UOJ Enthusiasts have gone farther than quoting Synodical Conference dimwits (starting with Walther) on their topic. They may start with Franz Pieper, who was forced into office by Walther to repeat CFW's error and canonize them in the Brief Statement.

Walther had to be stupid, because he never realized that he was following a flagrant adulterer with syphilis, a teen virgin chaser who covered his tracks with UOJ.

After all, the official story is that Walther suddenly found out about the adultery, even though Bishop Stephan left his wife and dying children in Dresden, took his mistress on the same ship, living with her in flagrante, and raised plenty of suspicion in St. Louis. That is why the cult bought Mormon land and left town.

Bishop Stephan was another Warren Jeff, and the clergy knew it. Or they did not know it. That is what I mean about UOJ fanatics all being liars. They cannot get their stories straight, even after 150 years of practice.

CFW Walther, being without actual sin, was assumed into heaven.

http://pollutedwels.blogspot.com/