Fred Pekkonen's blog

I recently watched the recent Star Trek movie. Three guys were about to space dive to Vulcan: Kirk, Sulu, and Olson. I thought, "Who's Olson?". I was caught up in the scene, and wanted to yell out, "Watch out, Olson! You're an extra!"

Have you wondered if you are an extra in life? To God, you are not an extra; you are a main character -- He has a great destiny for you.

Years ago, our next door neighbor was giving away kittens. Towards the end of the litter, we decided to take the yellow one. The first night we had him, he disappeared. I went next door and looked over the fence to see if he had returned to his mom. He was there, but the black and white kitten walked toward me and looked up with those eyes that asked, "Don't you love me too?"

We still have both of those cats, seniors now. Sometimes I wonder how many people go through life with that question never answered.

Here are sermon notes from Open Door Mission tonight.

The election is coming in two weeks, an off-year election.
The big topic appears to be: Do you want more government or less government? Also, do you trust the guy you voted for to do what he says?
So, one guy goes to vote saying, "The government doesn't do enough. I'll vote for Joe, he'll do mo'e." Another says, "We can't afford all this stuff. I'll vote for Tess, she'll do less."

It's been a rough year for dogs at my place. Nikko, our dog for many years has passed on, and we got a new Dog, Darby, a young border collie. Darby kept me busy taking him to Hayward's Landing and elsewhere to go running every day. But recently Darby bit a neighbor boy in the back, and animal control took him. This was a big distress and pain to Pat and me, as our precious little dog was in jail with an unknown outcome.

I used to write blogs, even running a series, even if nobody read them. Then I became the video announcement guy, and every week I'm thinking about what to do for the next Sunday, and my creativity, such as it is, was seemingly diverted from blogging. And then there's the new dog, and the kids moving, and ....

Following the president's first State of the Union, I heard Rush Limbaugh's message, and it seemed to sum up my thoughts well. Here is the transcript (It is also on YouTube):

My dog Nikko is recovering from Cancer. He had a large tumor removed from his right shoulder, and has a long scar to show for it, though the hair is growing back around it. The vet cannot guarantee it will not come back or even show up elsewhere. I'm glad we had it removed -- he has more energy again.

I try to remember to watch my posture. If I'm not careful, I'll be stooped like an old man. I have to work at it to stand or walk or even sit erect, head high, like my daddy owns the world. I wonder if there's a spiritual application.

I got impatient and jumped to a summary. I'll get back to the details, and move this to the end and give it a number.

Starting in verse 14 of 1 Corinthians 14, Paul gives us some more terms for speaking in tongues:

1 Corinthians 14:14 "For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding."