"This stinks!" is what we say when surprised by the pungent rotten egg smell of sulfur. We are also surprised by the parables told by Jesus the Christ about the coming Reign of God. And we are challenged to see that stinky sulfur has important uses within our world.

NO Spoilers for the series in this episode! I finish all three seasons of Stranger Things and am awed and moved by how great and soulful the story telling is. God is always Present in a well told and moving story.

I am struck my two conversations I had last Thursday which took place hours apart and just a few store fronts from each other. The second was a talk about Jimmy Buffet and his "greatness" while the first was about the great mystics of the Church. Are you a mystic? Are you a "parrothead?" How is Christ present in the midst of this contrast?

My son and I gathered with 175 others on the evening of the Lights for Liberty action. We gathered for talk, song and prayer at the Mount Gillead, Morrow County Ohio jail where about two dozen migrants are being detained. I witnessed, from a small distance, some of those men reaching out to us from behind the windows. They are "the little ones" to whom the Hebrew prophets and Jesus himself tell us to provide special care.

There are three kinds of phosphorus - the deadly white, the rare and useless black and the red form used in matches to ignite. It is also the key element needed for plants to grow. Christ came to bring light and flame and growth to the world. And there are many forms of his followers - some who are toxic and use his name for bigotry and violence, those with a benign faith that never leaves the church building and those whose hearts are burning and ignited as they bring Christ's Love to the world.

What was Jesus the Christ's first commandment as told in the first written Gospel (of Mark?) Was it to "repent" or to "change your heart?" And is it silicon or silicone? Is there even a difference between these?

The US Inspector General for the Dept of Homeland Security today said the migrant detention centers the US is running at the border are a "ticking time bomb" Yesterday my son and I attended two rallies asking US Representatives to immediately improve the conditions of these camps and to ultimately #closethecamps. I experienced God's presence in at least two people that I spoke with at these rallies.

I am working this summer with a temp agency and also delivering with a food delivery company. In both of these job roles I am a servant. On Sunday afternoon I worked serving a bridal shower and then was served at my daughter's dance banquet.

What of the greatest value? Gold? Silver? Or Aluminum? It all depends on your perspective. How do we know when we are hearing the voice of God? And what are the marks of a healthy, life giving religion? Ponder these questions and more in this episode.

We arrive at "the first of the truly marvelous structural metal" which is also highly explosive 🎆 in small amounts. Is Christ 💥 and loud or a "still small voice" like the one Elijah heard when he waited in the cave?