I'm a dog lover, always have been. Still, I do have my limits – limits which apparently aren’t shared by Scott Janssen. Janssen is a regular in the Alaskan Iditarod race – an annual long distance sled dog race in Alaska. Janssen is called the “Mushing Mortician” because when he’s not racing the Iditarod, he owns a funeral home.

A few days before the finish in the 2012 race, one of Janssen’s dogs, a nine-year-old husky named Marshall, collapsed. It was snowing, and the dogs were doing what they often do – dipping their faces into the snow to hydrate as they ran along. Everything was normal, until Marshall fell over.

We have done a lot of work on our home this past year. We are now at the point of purchasing doors for the closets, laundry room, bedroom, and bathroom. I never knew that were so many decisions when it came to doors!

There are left-swinging doors, right-swinging doors, and sliding barn doors. There are pine doors, oak doors, and knotty alder doors. There are arch-raised two panel doors, six-panel doors, and flat mission three-panel doors.

Harold fell in love with his next-door-neighbor when she was a teenager. As their relationship progressed, he told her that he wouldn’t marry her unless she converted to being a Lutheran. That didn’t sit very well with her very Catholic parents. It caused a division within the family.

All of you children who are 12-years-old and younger - have any of you ever been really sick – I mean, scary sick? You have been rushed to the emergency room with severe pain or a high fever. You are hurting. You are crying. You are scared.

And your parents are even more scared for you.

How many more shootings, attacks, and injustices does it take before tragedies stop being tragic?

Honestly, I’m frustrated. And perhaps you are, too. Frustrated that innocent people are having their lives snuffed out by pure evil. Police officers are the targets for snipers and other mass shooters. Rioting and protests in the streets. Florida night clubs being blown up. Terrorists using a truck to mow down civilians on the streets of France.

Just as it seems that our outrage and mourning over one tragedy begins to subside, the next tragedy hits.

The Supreme Court has once again dealt a blow to the pro-life movement by striking down a Texas law regulating the abortion industry.

A Wyoming municipal judge is being forced to resign her position because, as a conservative Lutheran, she has said she is unwilling to officiate a same-sex marriage – even though she was never asked to perform one.

We hate to lose. From the earliest times on the playground, we absolutely hate to lose. We hate to associate with losers. If we’re on a losing team, we want to be traded; if you’re a loser on a winning team, they want to trade you. The “grown-up” kids aren’t any better. Winners like to hang with winners. In business, it’s profit and market share. In investments, it’s return and dividend. In church, it’s crowds and programs ablaze with glory. We want to see ourselves as winners not losers.

The evening has been carefully planned. All the religious bigwigs are coming to Simon the Pharisee’s home. Jesus has been invited over. He is a rabbi, but He is new to the religious scene. He has been making waves among the Jews by doing and saying some pretty “unkosher” things. He cannot be ignored any longer. So Jesus is invited over so an investigation can take place. Is Jesus a prophet or isn’t He?

We have heard a great deal about “safe spaces” this past year. A safe space is a place on a college campus where students can relax and fully express themselves without fear of being made to feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, or unsafe.

When professors or guest speakers propose opposing viewpoints, then the students can flock to their safe spaces where everyone agrees with them and there is no opposition or hurt feelings.

Brown University in Rhode Island equipped their safe space with cookies, coloring books, bubbles, Play-Doh, calming music … and a video of frolicking puppies.

Hand gestures are a very effective nonverbal form of communication. Think of some of the famous hand gestures made popular in TV and movies.

In “Star Trek,” Spock separated his third and fourth fingers to give the Vulcan blessing, “Live long and prosper.”

In the “Hunger Games” trilogy, Katniss gives the three-finger salute to express unity with people of the districts.

In “Friends” and “Seinfeld,” if someone just kept yapping Ross would give the “blah-blah-blah” gesture. Elaine’s was a bit more expressive