It’s the 81st anniversary of the Allied invasion of Europe, and I can’t do better than repost what I wrote last year with a few minor edits…

It’s worth a pause to remember that freedom isn’t free. Over 4,000 allied soldiers died that day. The opening scene of Saving Private Ryan (9+ minutes) captures some of the horror of it:

Here are a few of the comments posted on this film clip:

Imagine living for 18-30 years, then going through weeks of demanding training, just be shot dead immediately after the landing boat door opens.

This is thought to be the most accurate depiction of war ever put to film. Hundreds of veterans walked out of seeing it in theaters because it was too much to take in.

I’d like to say a thanks to all the brave men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice on June 6th 1944, lest we forget.

I can’t improve on those.

Here is a first-person account from a 101-year-old veteran of D-Day. Jake Larson would be 102 years old now, still alive, as far as I know.

Wright Bryan, a graduate of my alma mater, Clemson University. broadcast the the first radio report of the invasion. He went on to have a distinguished career in journalism and was Vice-President for Development at Clemson when I was a student. (Of course, none of us undergrads knew any of that history.)

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (John 15.13, ESV)

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5.8, ESV)

We all know (I hope!) the Great Commission: here it is from Matthew’s Gospel:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28.18 – 20, ESV)

Make disciples “of all nations…” Navigator patriarch Jim Downing, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 104, asked, “Where is the Great Commission in the Old Testament?” Jim believed the answer to the question is Psalm 67. Let’s see. It opens this way:

To the Chief Musician. On Stringed Instruments. A Psalm. A Song.

God be merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us, Selah That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. (Psalm 67.Introduction – verse 2, NKJV)

“God be merciful to us” – why? “THAT your way may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.” There it is: “all nations.”

Psalm 67 continues:

Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, And govern the nations on earth. Selah (Psalm 67.3, 4, NKJV)

“…the peoples…the nations…” And the psalm repeats verse 3 and closes…

Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us, And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him. (Psalm 67.5 – 7, NKJV)

God’s heart is that ALL the nations, ALL the peoples praise God. Then…

• The earth shall yield her increase
• God, our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us, And
• All the ends of the earth shall fear Him. (Psalm 67,5 – 7, NKJV, bulleted for clarity)

And how will the nations praise the true God if we don’t tell them?

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10.14, 15, NKJV)

Yesterday’s blog about my being wrong about which Chicago team Pope Bob (Leo XIV, for you non-Bobs!), flashed me back to an event that occurred over 50 years ago…

I was on a 6-man crew tracking satellites from a base in eastern Turkey back in 1970. At Christmas we got into a discussion about who wrote “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” I had seen a TV show a few years before that introduced Johnny Marks as the composer of Rudolph and a number of favorite (secular!) Christmas songs.

So I was confident. I knew exactly who wrote Rudolph. But not as confident as my crewmate Willie who was even more convinced that Gene Autrey wrote it. Actually, Gene Autrey recorded it, and it was a huge hit for him. I told Willie I had seen Johnny Marks on TV, etc. Nope. Then I scrounged around for a Christmas record (remember records?). The label contained not only the list of songs on the record but also who composed each. And there it was:

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by…Johnny Marks

Done, right? Of course not. Willie said something like, “I don’t know what all that stuff means on the label, but it can’t mean that Johnny Marks wrote Rudolph since everyone knows that Gene Autrey wrote it.”

Reminds me of the flat earth story I shared back in January.

Let’s be teachable, shall we?

He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing. (Proverbs 29.1, ESV)

No cure for intentional blindness, I’m afraid – Seth Godin

When Pope Bob (known as Leo XIV) was announced (I saw it live), reporters were scrambling to find any facts that they could. Among the tidbits of information was that even though he was born on the south side of Chicago, he was a Cubs fan, not a White Sox fan.

Imagine my shock to read Gerard Baker’s editorial in the Wall Street Journal An American Pope in the Era of Trump, which includes this sentence:

I’m sure the conclave—and the Holy Spirit—had all kinds of reasons for picking a protege of Francis, a missionary, and a Chicago White Sox fan for the throne of St. Peter.

I told my wife, “How could Baker make such a mistake? The Pope is a Cubs fan!” I was reading the print version, and I thought to myself that someone would point out the mistake and it would be fixed online. About 10 days later, I decided to check on it, the sentence is still there – see above. How can this be?

Easy. the initial report that he was a Cubs fan was wrong. He’s always been a White Sox fan, and this article has a brief video of then Father Prevost at a White Sox World Series game in 2005. This initial report was wrong…and therefore, I was wrong. And instead of letting Gerard Baker, an editor at large of the Wall Street Journal, correct me, I assumed he was wrong, and I was right. Oops.

There’s a lesson there, and it reminds me of a story from Air Force days more than 50 years ago. Stay tuned.

The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence. The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor. (Proverbs 15.31 – 33, ESV)

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (Proverbs 14.12, ESV)

I was shocked a few days ago when I received an email from blog readers Brant and Laura McGlothlin saying that the Sunday sermon in their Texas church opened with “The Parable of the Emails.” The parable occurs in my book That’s Not Church!, which means it first appeared as a blog in the Ewellogy…from 2019. A long time ago, now.

The pastor read the parable in its entirety, citing me and my book:

Here’s the parable:

A business owner called his employees together and said, “I’m going away for a while, and I want you all to keep the business going. I’ll be sending emails from time to time to help keep you on track.” When the owner returned a couple years later, the business was in shambles. He asked them, “Didn’t you read my emails?” 

They replied, “You bet! In fact, we compiled them into a book, and we have read them all very carefully. In fact, we gather at least once a week to have an email study to discuss them!’

The owner was shocked. “Didn’t you do anything I told you to do?” 

“Do anything? No, we didn’t do anything, but those were some really fine emails!”

It’s terrific…the kind of thing I wish I had written. But I didn’t. The original blog post has this introduction:

Our Spring Canyon speaker, retired Army Chaplain Dan Holcomb, told a very effective parable that I want to share with you. It’s the kind of thing I wish I had written! (I hope you understand that some of my stuff is original, but I’m also standing on the shoulders of others! Dan credits the story to Chuck Swindoll.) 

In other words, I got it from Dan Holcomb, who got it from Chuck Swindoll. No matter. It’s a good word, and the pastor not only opened his message with the parable, but he also closed his message…

Being a witness is doing what the emails say instead of just reading them. – Shawn Mullen, GracePoint Church, Portland, TX, May 11, 2025,

Amen.

[Jesus said, ] “But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach.” (Matthew 7.26, MSG)

Do you know the difference between mercy and grace? Pastor Tim McConnell at First Presbyterian Church, Colorado Springs, shared the accepted succinct definitions on May 11, 2025:

Mercy is not getting what you deserve.

Grace is getting what you don’t deserve.

Then Tim shared some excellent Biblical pictures that he attributed to David Jeremiah. Too good not to share:

• Mercy withholds the knife from the heart of Isaac. Grace provides the ram in the thicket. (Genesis 22.9 – 14)
• Mercy runs to forgive the prodigal. Grace throws a party with a robe, a ring, and a fatted calf. (Luke 15.17 – 24)
• Mercy hears the cry of the thief on the cross. Grace promises paradise that very day. (Luke 23.39 – 43. See also this blog.)
• Mercy converts Paul on the road to Damascus. Grace calls him to be the great apostle. (Acts 9.1 – 5)
• Mercy closes the door to hell. Grace opens the door to heaven.

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. (Revelation 22.17, ESV)

My friend and pastor par excellence, James Conley, was at his pastoral best, responding to my Life is Tough blog of a few days ago:

Brother Bob, you can always find hope in the trials of suffering. I hope that I can grow up to be like you someday. These physical bodies are only warrantied for 70 or perhaps 80 years.

Your willingness to persevere through with an aging body is inspiring. The Lord is your keeper, sustainer through each circumstance. He can be trusted to be with us!

THANKS BE TO GOD, Shalom!

Thank you, James. When I mentioned to another pastor that I felt like our warranties had run out when we turned 70 (two knee replacements and a rotator cuff repair, not counting this year’s challenges), he said, “To be replaced by a lifetime warranty.” That’s a good word, too.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2 Corinthians 1.3, 4, ESV)

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4.16 – 18, ESV)

“OK, Bob, we know Life is Tough, and It Could be Tougher, but you…you’re on a resort island! Bad shoulder or not, it’s hard to feel sorry for you!” I get it. And I’ve been well aware during all my 2025 challenges, that others have it much worse. That said, when I shared that with a pastor earlier this year, he responded, “But that doesn’t help, does it?”

We are indeed thankful to be with family: left to right: our son-in-law Cody Gifford, our granddaughter Shirah’s boyfriend Mateus, me (with sling!), graduating granddaughter Shirah, our daughter Melody, and June. We’re fresh off the plane, paying a quick visit to Shirah’s senior prom.

Melody and Cody are moving to a house right on the coast. They used to live in West Bay (upper left on this map), and the new house is where my picture is.

Melody’s new house is, indeed, right on the coast as you can see from this picture out their living room window:

The one thing the pictures don’t show is that it’s HOT! Especially if you’re from Colorado. When we got off the plane, despite having grown up in South Carolina and living 12 years in Montgomery, Alabama, I had forgotten that there are places this hot in the world! And FYI, just because most places are air-conditioned, doesn’t mean all places are or that one is always in air-conditioned space!

For example, we visited the Botanical Gardens where we met several iguana living in the wild.

Back to more serious topics tomorrow…

They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing; For the majesty of the LORD They shall cry aloud from the sea. Therefore glorify the LORD in the dawning light, The name of the LORD God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea. (Isaiah 24.15, 16, NKJV)

“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.” (Isaiah 42. 1 – 5, NKJV)

I recently sent out an email updating folks on my shoulder issue and travels, similar to yesterday’s Life Is Tough blog. I had a stunning response from my hero Rich Kagel, whom I’ve written about before. Please refresh your memory on Rich’s conversion and his mission to provide clean water to Guinea Bissau.

Writing with my attack from two neighborhood dogs in mind as well as his own recent trip to West Africa, Rich wrote:

Several recent nights, I walked to my grass covered bungalow in West Africa, late at night through a dark but busy neighborhood followed by navigating through jungle trails with my tiny flashlight. Along the way, my path included so many dogs running out ready to intimidate, or worse, most of the pigs and goats were already in bed but there were other obstacles popping up unexpectedly. In the jungle, there was a different set of surprises to engage my worries. 

In the far past, whistling was my go to for these kind of experiences. But the 23rd psalm is now my new one – I lack nothing. Bob, you lack nothing too!

“You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.”

Surrounded by my enemies, my fears, those freaking dogs, the black mambas, the weird huge spiders, the shame I experience way too much, the ice pick like pain in my right knee, the medicine that’s not working anymore, my enemies, all around me, and You invited me to dinner with You, God, you prepared a table, because with You, I lack nothing and You and I will have a lovely dinner, together, safe in your hands! 

“Bob, you lack nothing, too! God prepares a table before you in the presence of your enemies.” And Rich’s enemies seem a bit more formidable than mine, including the deadly black mamba snake and huge spiders!

And speaking of travels, I’m not in the wilds of Africa, I’m on Grand Cayman Island…stay tuned.

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. (Psalm 23.1, 5, NIV)

Or, “Here we go again…” I’m into my second health issue of the year. After nearly two months of intermittent pain with my prostate, I felt good as of late March. Then, May 2, the shoulder acts up. With difficulty, we’ve made it to Grand Cayman Island, where our daughter and family live, teaching music in an international school. We’re here for granddaughter Shirah’s high school graduation. Not a good time for me to be incapacitated…

But read the Psalms! David was always going from one calamity to another. And often, all he could do was wait for God’s deliverance.

Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved…

My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God.(Psalm 62.1, 2, 5 – 7, NKJV)

And David’s counsel is simple:

Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah (Psalm 62.8, NKJV)

God is our refuge. Therefore, trust and pray.

Sometimes, that’s all we can do.