Morrison County Government Center

This morning, Gordon Wheeler, Sr. entered the County board meeting concealing a gun. Gordon was upset about some county decisions that were not in his favor. Wheeler has had a long-standing feud with the county over some adult businesses he owned near Camp Ripley and Swanville. In 2007 he filed a lawsuit against the county but the suit was dismissed.

When it was all over, apparently only Wheeler was wounded. Kare 11 reports that he was killed.

Thankfully no one from the county was injured. One lady from my church was in that meeting earlier and had left to go back to her office when the incident occurred.

I just talked to her on the phone. Thank God she is ok.

It is in difficult times like this that we recognize how life can change so quickly. We must live every moment to the fullest and be sure that we are always in a right relationship with Jesus Christ.

If your reading this blog and feel overwhelmed by stress and have thought about carrying out something like this, find someone to talk to. There is always a better option than the taking of someone else's life. There is always hope in Jesus.

Motion Missions Trip to Mexico

Some of the youth from Living Hope are in Mexico City right now.

I can't wait to hear their stories. They will be sharing them in our July 13th service. My son Mark is on his first missions trip. The picture below has me a little curious. I don't think I will be able to wait until July 13th to hear the story behind this. In fact, I talked with the missionary they are with, Peter Breit. All he would say about this is "That's no ordinary water and you'll have to ask Mark what could possibly make it worth it when he gets back."

(Marissa Burns, Mark Thompson)

(AIM team with people from one of the local churches)

22 Years Ago Today

Not only is today Flag Day, it is also my anniversary. 22 years ago today, Darla and I were married. Happy Anniversary honey!

We haven't changed a bit!

Lake Delton Drained

My family just returned from a great week of vacation in the Wisconsin Dells area. On Sunday, June 1st, we road on the Original Wisconsin Ducks. We were able to experience a great tour through the woods, onto the Wisconsin River and Lake Delton. The guide explained to us how Lake Delton is a man made lake, "artificial" was the term he used.

On Monday night we went to the Tommy Bartlet Water Ski show. This great show is also located on Lake Delton.

As you can see from these pictures. It was raining pretty hard. We could have sat underneath their large canopy but we thought that if we were a little wet it would make the experience more like "4-D". (Maybe this is why I have the sniffles today?)

As you may have heard, Lake Delton is no longer a lake. With all the recent and heavy rains, Lake Delton forced itself out of its normal boundaries and found a way around the dam. Once it broke loose, there was no containing it. Within hours a beautiful lake is now muck.

As I watch the news, it is hard to believe that I was just enjoying the entertainment that is provided by Lake Delton. As a pastor, there are many applications and lessons that can be learned by this tragedy.

• We can find ourselves drained if we are not careful
  
• Life changes quickly
• Bad things happen to good people
• Too much of a good thing may not always be a good thing
• Tragedy often brings out the best in people
  

I encourage you to take a moment and pray for the people in areas that have been flooding. Pray for them like it was you in the situation.

I was glad to hear the Tommy Bartlet show will open up yet this week, obviously without the water skiing portion. The statement, "The show must go on" really is true.