To subscribe to this blog:

At the bottom of the website--just above the painting of St. Francis. There is an active link that says "Posts(Atom)." A new screen will pop up that says, "Subscribe to this feed using________." You will be given some options.

1. Live bookmarks. This will become an active link in the toolbar of your Internet Explorer or Firefox (whatever you use to browse the internet). Because it is in your toolbar, you can pull it down and see if Bob or I have posted a new entry. I recommend this one for blog reader beginners. It is the least complicated.

2. You can select Yahoo. This will put an active link on your Yahoo's reader page. You will need to register an account with Yahoo if you haven't already.

3. Google. Is another venue you can select to easily read various blogs through a live link. A live link works exactly like the links you can select on your MSN news page or your CNN news page.

If you don't have Yahoo or Google reader pages or if you do not read any other blogs, the active toolbar link (1.) is your best option.

To add or view comments:

Underneath every post or entry there is an active link called comments and it generally has a number in front of it. If you want to comment or read everyone else’s comments, click on it. A new screen will pop up with all comments listed in the left column. In the right hand column there is a box that you can type into--under the place it says "Leave your comment." Type your comment. Underneath the box you need to "Choose an identity." 1. You can register for your own blogger identity for free. This requires setting up an account and selecting a username and password. 2. You can choose "other". This will register the non-blogger username and website of your choice. 3. You can choose to be "anonymous" and not register any name or website. This is the easiest option. And if you would like to leave your name at the bottom of your comment Bob can read who it is from. Finally, select the orange button to "post your comment" or the blue button to "Preview" it before posting the comment.
Feel free to practice. If your practice comments get too messy, as the blog administrator, I can always clean them up for you.

Note Concerning Blog Subscription

Some of you may be reading my articles in a format other than the blog. (For example, a friend may have handed you my recent piece on needing glasses.) If you are, and you wish to subscribe to my blog, you may do so at http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com. It's free. There is a way to register so that you will be notified by e-mail every time I post a new article. You won't need to keep checking the blog to see if I've updated it. In addition to registration information, you will find archives containing past articles of mine about my medical condition and thoughts pertaining to it. You will also find comments from other bloggers and occasional remarks I've made in reply.

Should I Buy New Glasses?

I have a problem: I need new glasses. My present trifocals are not only worn out, with the scratches and smudges that come with use, but my vision has worsened.

Ordinarily a person would have the necessary testing and get new glasses. But in my case, I’m reluctant to bother. The testing with the ophthalmologist will be quite extensive and then I will need new lenses and frames.

I am hesitant to move forward. As many of you reading this know, I am not expected to live much longer—probably not more than two months according to the doctors. I have a disease known as cardiac transplant vasculopathy, and my coronary arteries are gradually closing. There is no cure. I am becoming weaker as the days pass.

You can see my dilemma. Why bother?

I have decided to go ahead with the testing next week, however, for three reasons. One, no one but God knows for sure how long I will live. I just don’t feel as though I’ll be gone from this earth by October 5th. Two, sight is such an important sense for me, as it is for us all, that even if my remaining time on earth is brief, my quality of life will be enhanced greatly by good vision. Three, I feel as though my ministry is not yet complete, and I need better eyesight to do the things awaiting me. While I have no grandiose thoughts of future ministry accomplishments, I do hope to serve God in further ways through The Benediction Project with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength until he calls me home. Good eyesight will be a major asset.

Since I signed into hospice care on April 5, I have benefited considerably from the service. The emphasis on palliative care (seeking relief from pain and discomfort rather than a cure) and the other guidelines are well thought-out, and, while not specifically Christian-oriented, are compatible with the views of biblically-grounded Christians. I have found the nurses and other specialists who visit my home to be knowledgeable, practical, and compassionate. They are respectful of the beliefs and wishes of Judy and me, and are easy to work with.

Thank you for reading this blog. You are becoming an important constituency in my life even though there are many of you I have never met. Feel free to respond to my essays or interact with another blogger. And thank you, once more, for your many prayers and expressions of concern. Your prayers are having a significant effect on my morale, and thus on my overall well-being.

Judy and I recently observed our 40th wedding anniversary. There were times over the past year that I wondered if I’d be alive on July 22nd to celebrate the day. God was pleased, however, to grant us our wish. We are finding that, even in the midst of suffering and uncertainty, our life together becomes sweeter as we cling to God and each other in Christian hope. Here is our benediction for you this month:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

Happy 40th Wedding Anniversary

 

Thanks to all of you who sent your best wishes and to those who came to celebrate this special day with Bob and Judy.

Introducing the blog manager

Perhaps I should introduce myself, after writing that last post. I am the blog manager of this site. Feel free to contact me directly once I install that feature. My handle is espiritu paz and my name is Abigail. I have worked with Bob for quite some years as the faculty administrative assistant, at Bethel Seminary. I first bonded with Bob on Mennonite and pacifism themes during a time when he was sort of my boss, while I was his student. I did an independent study with him and he had me do some presentations on pacifism in his ethics courses. Over the years, Bob and Judy have sort of adopted me and I have adopted them in return, as it has become a mutually edifying relationship. I’ve stayed on as Bob’s ad hoc assistant, even though he has retired from teaching, making it possible for him to continue to have a platform from which he can be creative. This blog is one of those venues. So I will occasionally post on this blog in contribution toward and along-side the works and interests of Bob. I do have my own blog at http://modern-parables.blogspot.com/

benedictions and squirrely conversations

There are a number of things that are very particular about hanging out with Bob and Judy. One thing they like to do is go to buffets: Chinese buffet, Old Country Buffet, anywhere where you don’t have to feel obligated to do that shady tipping thing. The other thing they like to do is simple meals at home. So, when I was summoned for computer items/my birthday meal, I picked the simple meal at home, with pita and veggies.

Of course there must mention be made of Prairie Bible College where Bob and Judy met and its emphasis on missions and the particulars of obscure communal rule. This time, particular table etiquette was delineated. One must sit upright in their chair at all times pivoting from the hips as one leaned forward to eat soup as one tipped the bowl away from one’s self, taking care never to slurp. Hungry farm boys had to be re-cultured from their habits of slouching into their plates and wolfing down their food. For this was a school of missions and according to the history of missions one often ends up dining with the heads of state in various foreign countries. Grace and proper etiquette are required in these situations.

After a thorough lecture on how one obtains a doctorate and goes about finding a doctoral mentor, Judy turns to me and asks, “So now you’re prepared to go get your doctorate, as this was the unabridged version.” It was becoming apparent that someone had put a quarter in Bob again. I hadn’t seen this side of Bob emerge for quite a while. “It’s the drugs! It’s the drugs,” Bob exclaims as he motions toward the large shoe box of medication and vitamins that are ever present on the dining room table, as he launches into a demonstration of how one then presents his/her obscure and irrelevant thesis in such a way as to remain credible with much academic pomp. “You see,” he adjusts his imaginary coke-bottle glasses, “string theory is related to the configuration of atoms that are discombobulated within space-time and translated into the dimension of squirrel. This is proven by the experiment performed in the atom smashers. Hey, did you know that Minnesota has the greatest amount of atom smashing tracts anywhere. There’s one atom accelerating channel that runs from Chicago to Duluth. But the squirrels have taken control of it and influence the outcomes of all experiments performed in it. This is what is meant by the dimension of squirrel. Yet only a select number of scientists know and understand the dimension of squirrel. And one can know by looking deep into/behind the eyes of a single squirrel, who is your average bounding around outside on a tree, squirrel.

Judy offers us another piece of corn on the cob, and frets at the long piece of silk hanging from the ear. “No thank you,” Bob counters, “I’m not into eating string theory, currently.” And he continues as before.

Yet things eventually turn earnest as Bob’s quarter runs out and I’m about to head out the door. Computer stuff was very nearly forgotten as we hurriedly try to address the list of items I am to address with the blog and such. But Bob and Judy are praying people and they insist on giving me a birthday blessing before I head out the door. They ask for God to give me the best year of my life, closing in a benediction, “Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before the only wise God our Savior...”

That he give you wisdom in squirrel theory.

Perhaps Mr. Bag Man will emerge one of these days.