The . . . SMELL . . . of Love

What does love smell like?
Well, in the case of my daughter's love for me on my birthday this year, there are two decidedly different answers.
The first is the sweet smell of Paul Sebastian after shave, cologne, and deodorant.
The other is manure tea. Yep, that's right, you can actually buy concentrated manure (she chose horse, but cow is available) in little brown bags that you soak in water for 3-5-days. This isn't any old crappy fertilizer, mind you. This comes from livestock raised "on native grass pastures, . . . free of hormone added grains, antibiotics, and pesticides." This is ORGANIC horse poop. Just wait till you see the pictures of my flowers later this summer!

As I planned, I took donuts to work today (3 dozen; one lonely sugar twist was left when I checked before coming home at 5:30), and the magazines staffs took me to lunch for my birthday. I chose Abuelo's, and it was a wonderful meal and an enjoyable time together.
Jennifer arrived at our house a little after 6:30. She flies to Jacksonville tomorrow for a meeting on Wednesday, and then back here for wedding errands and fun Thursday through Saturday. Then on to Indianapolis Sunday to attend the Christian Missionary Fellowship board meeting.

Evelyn made pasta bean soup for supper, and for dessert we had chocolate pound cake with strawberries and whipped cream leftover from my birthday.
Now, with the wrapping off the presents Jennifer brought me, my birthday is officially over!
Today at work was typical of many: some unanticipated tasks completed, some of today's goals unfinished. I have high hopes for tomorrow, though!

All Weekend Long

Maribeth Pippenger, a longtime friend who lives in Kansas now (she and her husband, Milt, were in a small group that was important to us in Longmont, Colorado, 37 or so years ago), wrote one of my favorite Facebook birthday greetings:


A very happy birthday to you, Mark. All day. All weekend. Spread the celebration over several days and let us enjoy them with you on your blog!


In a way I've followed her advice. Evelyn and I ate brunch at First Watch Cafe this morning after church. I signed up for their e-mail promotions some time ago, and one of the perks is a coupon for a free meal on your birthday. Today was the day to redeem the coupon!


The rest of the day was typical Sunday. Sang with the worship team at the Blended Service at 9:30. After lunch, came home to do some desk work (read two proofs and wrote a draft for one editorial) before going to the grocery store and then getting the lawn mowed before Sixty Minutes and supper.


But I decided to use today to repeat and reflect a bit on some of my favorite Facebook birthday greetings. 

The cake pictured here was one of them, included in a greeting from the other side of the world.


Two of my favorite greetings:

I love working with you, I love laughing with you, and I love being your daughter!

Happy Birthday to the best father-in-law a girl could ask for. You make us smile, you encourage us with your kind words, you delight in your family and we feel your love.

A couple that are encouraging as I think about my work:

I'm so indebted to you for helping me do some writing. Thank you for all you do to advance the kingdom of God.

Thanks for committing your life to the church.

Keep up the great job at Christian Standard.

Some of the greetings caused me to stop and take stock of my life:

I know this is a great period of time in your life and I hope you enjoy each moment!

May this be the best year of your life!

May this be the most productive year of your life!

And one poster, a friend who was in the youth group at Central Christian Church in Waukegan, Illinois same time as me in the late sixties, wrote this:

Many happy returns on the day of your birth. May sunshine and gladness be given. May God, in His mercy, prepare you on earth for your beautiful birthday in Heaven. Remember saying this in the pre-Sunday School service at Central?

Yes, indeed I do remember the whole church reciting the verse as those with birthdays that week went forward and deposited their offering in a little plastic bank during each week's Sunday school opening assembly. Wow, I wonder if anyone reading this goes to a church where they still do that!

My birthday celebration will extend one more day. The people in the magazines group at Standard are taking me to lunch tomorrow. I'll bring donuts to share with the whole office. And Jennifer's coming to town on work business and wedding business, and she wrote to say she's bringing me a present! We're saving some birthday cake to eat with her. And THAT will be the last day of my four-day birthday. 

Good Friends, Good Day

It's late, and I'm tired after a long day with good friends.

This morning we were at Terry and Shirley Wuske's place  by 9:00 to help them with their move. They decided not to move furniture today, since rain was predicted. (A good decision. It POURED, off and on, all morning and afternoon.) But the kitchen had not yet been packed. So we packed dishes and gadgets and silverware and the pantry into boxes that we drove a few doors down the street and then unloaded and unpacked and put away into drawers and cabinets at their new home. A friend brought pizza for them and their helpers at 1:00, and we were there till about 3:00.

Then we hurried home to get ready to go to dinner at Sev and Paul Friskney's place; Bill and Verna Weber were there too. 

Wonderful food. Lots and lots of laughter. A relaxing and memorable evening with good people. Evelyn had baked a chocolate pound cake, and she served it with strawberries and whipped cream after everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me. It's nice when a birthday doesn't end in one day!

I snapped this picture of the Friskneys, Evelyn, and the Webers before we ate dinner.
 The smiles continued all evening.

Happy Birthday to Me . . .

I decided to take off work on my birthday . . . to work in the yard!
That's not all I did. I woke up at the regular time, read through the newspaper with a cup of coffee (a luxury sometimes enjoyed on Saturday), checked Facebook, ate a cup of yogurt and watched a little of the  Today show, checked Facebook some more (those birthday greetings on Facebook are great, aren't they?).
Finally got outside a little before 9:00. It was cold! I was bundled up like Nanook of the North. Tried out  my new handy-dandy Stihl edger, tried it out for more than an hour, that is. The grass growing over the edge of the sidewalk was a thicket, all up and down our driveway and along our front sidewalk. But the new edger slashed through it all, leaving piles of grass to sweep up. The clean-up took as long as the edging. My handy-dandy blower isn't nearly as handy. After 2 or 3 stints of yanking the start-up cord maybe a dozen times, it finally started, and I was able to blow away the dust and small pieces of grass after having filled half a garbage can with the big stuff. I was ready for a break--and getting hungry at 11:00, so I came in and fixed myself some scrambled eggs and toast and coffee and checked Facebook some more while I ate it. Then I settled into that easy chair in the living room . . . and fell asleep for a few minutes.
About 1:00 I was back outside, digging weeds around trees and bushes in the back yard. It doesn't sound like much, but there were a LOT of weeds in those beds, and I found a couple of perennials that needed to be moved. So I was still at it about 4:30 when Evelyn got home from work.
Hopped in the shower so we could leave for our special birthday dinner at Ember's, a wonderful restaurant in Kenwood. I had a Groupon I was saving for a special occasion, and we decided this was it.
Ember's specializes in steaks, and I had the pan-seared 6-ounce filet mignon--tasty with mushrooms and onions and gnocchi. Evelyn had the sea bass, over pasta with artichokes and tomatoes. I had a taste, and it was yummy; my steak melted in my mouth, really. We split the Asian egg rolls and the chopped salad, and the restaurant comped us dessert since it was my birthday. Every bite of the whole meal was great.

The waitress snapped our picture when the creme brulee came. That's an "Embers" cookie resting on top of it.

After that we stopped by Old Navy to use a 20%-off coupon we had found on Facebook, then to Macy's where I picked out an immersion blender that Evelyn said she'd give me for my birthday. Then, the major accomplishment of the evening--a swing through Dillard's resulting in TWO mother-of-the-bride dress possibilities in our proud possession. Either of them of are much cuter than the first choice.
Evelyn's going to try them on for Jennifer when she's in town next week.
Not a typical birthday, but all in all, a very pleasant one!

My Birthday Is Tomorrow . . .

My birthday is tomorrow, but the Facebook greetings have already started coming. Isn't it fun? I said last year one of the best things about Facebook is getting all those birthday wishes from people I wouldn't hear from any other way.
I guessing, however, that no greeting--or card, or gift--will make me smile as much as the post on my timeline from our "adopted" daughter, Wendy Wagoner. She's serving with CMF in Tanzania, and she just finished language school in another part of the country. A friend met here there, and they went to see the gorillas in Rwanda before making the trek across the Serengeti back to her home in Arusha. She has some remarkable pictures on her Facebook page, and she chose one of them just for me . . .

The greeting? "Happy birthday from me, Milo (her dog), and Murphy!" Wendy asked me if I wanted a gorilla for my birthday. I told her it would probably cost too much to ship. The picture is the next best thing, though, and one genuine smile in the day.

One Good Thing About the Church

Here's the good thing about the church, or one of them, that is:
The church is always there, week after week, regardless of what else is happening in our lives. Our job may be giving me fits (ask me if I can relate to this), our health may be going south, our aging bodies may be failing us, we may be frustrated by any number of people around us as we cope with difficult situations.
But whatever is changing--or ought to change--in our lives, the church is always there. Every Sunday it plans worship that points us to God. Every week we see faithful followers of Christ who gather with us to encourage and be encouraged.
It's easy to get disgruntled when church or worship is too much the same week after week. Today, I'm grateful for the dependability of the church week after week after week.
This thought comes to me tonight because of that change factor in my life--some things are changing too much, and some things not enough--and after attending worship team practice this evening. "We'll do our usual five songs," the worship leader said. Would more variety than that be better? Maybe. But routine isn't all bad. Meanwhile,  I'm grateful for the faithful Christians who were there for rehearsal tonight. It encourages me to see their year-by-year Christian life. I'll think about that as we sing some familiar songs at worship time this Sunday.

Benji Maurer and Greg Henderson at worship team practice tonight--two faithful
Christians at Christ's Church at Mason.

Ev-ry Day at My Church . . . .

It dawned on me yesterday that I would be at my church building sometime during each of five days in a row this week.
There was Sunday, with our monthly stint at the Welcome Center and playing Communion music during the blended service.
Monday evening I was at a committee meeting. (Don't ask; I won't tell.)
Tonight I slipped in to hear Tonic-Sol-Fa, a remarkable a capella quartet that was the program for the Evergreen monthly shindig, with everyone else invited to the concert. Quite enjoyable. Not only are they good singers, but the lead guy was quite funny and had a great way of interacting with the audience.
Tomorrow night I attend rehearsal with the worship team for next Sunday's blended service.
Thursday morning I'll be there to meet with my men's Bible study--chapters 4 through 6 in King's Cross.
If I had any notion that we're saved or we somehow earn merit by going to church, I'd be feeling pretty good about myself. But I don't, and if I feel good about myself it's not because of all my "churchiness" this week.
As the church marquee is advertising, we're having a big Habitat House building project Saturday--walls for six houses. I won't be there.

Two Issues about Immigrants

Spent most of today editing material for the first of two issues we're devoting to the theme of immigration (in Christian Standard, of course).  If we had gone monthly in June, as we thought we might, this material would have made a good core of that monthly issue. But instead we'll spread the material across two issues--two full issues.
The first of the two will offer several different perspectives on what the Bible says about immigration. Believe it or not, respected voices come up with different views on that. The second issue will tell the stories of immigrants, most of them undocumented, to help readers get a picture of the lives so many of these folks live.
I'm convinced the issue is more complicated than many of us have considered. Watch of the issues in June. I'm anticipating reader response.

Today's picture I took Saturday when I was browsing at Home Depot. They have shelves and shelves of tender annuals for sale. But it's still to early to plant 'em. I'm guessing they've been covering them the last couple of nights with our frost/freeze warnings. But these are pretty, for sure.

True Sabbath Rest

Earlier this year the good folks at Amazon.com sent me an e-mail recommending a book by Tim Keller. This, because I've purchased from them a couple of other books by the minister of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan (where Geoff and Lisa are members). My Thursday-morning men's Bible study was deciding what to study next, and King's Cross seemed like an excellent solution:

• It is a study through the Gospel of Mark--not just a book about biblical ideas.
• It's by Keller, who is always thought-provoking and fresh.
• It would force me to read the book.
• It would offer something different from our usual study guide filled with questions and blank lines. 

The group agreed, and we began last week, after having read the introduction and the first three chapters.
This afternoon I had an experience that seems rare. I got to about 4:00 and didn't have anything I had to do or had planned to do.
Well, that's almost true. I had planned to work outside awhile today. Actually I planned to work outside awhile yesterday. But it's COLD--it was below 40 degrees when we left for church this morning. "It's been this temperature on Christmas Day," I told Evelyn. I looked outside this afternoon at the trees blowing in the wind, and I decided the weeds or edging could wait till a warmer day. (I'm going to see if I can take a vacation day Friday and work in the yard--if it will be any warmer then! The TV weather person commented that we're having our March weather in April this year--and we had April/May weather in March!)
So I snuggled down in our recliner with the book on my lap--and after about 6 pages, settled back into a nap! But before and after the dozing, I read all three chapters we agreed to consider this Thursday. It was a relaxing, re-energizing time. I tried not to feel guilty when Evelyn left me there to go take her daily 30-minute walk.
One section I read commented on Jesus' claim to be Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-28; 3:1-6). "Sabbath means a deep rest, a deep peace," he wrote. "When Jesus says, 'I am the Lord of the Sabbath,' Jesus means that he is the Sabbath. He is the source of the deep rest we need. . . . The one-day-a-week rest we take is just a taste of the deep divine rest we need, and Jesus is its source."
Later he summarizes: "You can take all the vacations in the world, but if you don't have the deep rest of the soul, resting in what Jesus did on the cross, you will not truly rest."
I think I truly rested this afternoon, and I'm very glad.

Peters at the Pops

Last night we went to the last of this year's Cincinnati Pops concerts, and it was a good one.

"Broadway sensation" Bernadette Peters was the headliner, and she filled the long second half, keeping us with her the whole time.

Performing everything from the red-hottest "There Ain't Nothin' Like a Dame" you've ever seen or heard to a lullaby she wrote for her children's book, she demonstrated her remarkable versatility. The concert made me wish I had seen/could someday see her on Broadway. 

A trained vocalist would need to evaluate her voice. My layman's ear found it strong, often sultry, sometimes a little raspy, but able to achieve a wide range, including clear, quiet high notes. It did falter or crack two or three times toward the end of the concert, but those who noticed didn't seem to care. No one would guess she's 64, but I'll believe that fact, quoted in the Cincinnati Enquirer's interview with her last Sunday. She really does look as good as this publicity photo (left). 

Here's proof that I DID see Bernadette Peters--
this grainy picture I took from my seat Friday night.

We met Bill and Verna Weber for dinner before the concert at Cactus Pear restaurant in Clifton. We were there about 6:15, which gave us time for a relaxed, enjoyable dinner before leaving to drive down Vine Street to Music Hall for the 8:00 concert. Both they and we have decided not to renew our Pops subscription next year--they because Verna is still looking for a job and we because I wasn't blown away by all the concerts in next year's series. I hope to attend at least a couple of them, though. Amy Grant will be here for the Christmas biggie, and about a year from now Mandy Patinkin will close the seasons's series. We've seen Amy in person before, but not Mandy, and I think I'd like to.

All things must come to an end, including the lighted Pops
sign that was the backdrop for Erich Kunzel's Pops
concerts, in favor of this one when John Morris Russell
took the podium this year.

"Older" Isn't the Worst Thing

Today is Jennifer's birthday, and we called her while we were riding to meet Verna and Bill Weber for dinner before attending the Cincinnati Pops concert tonight at Music Hall. (It was a treat to see and hear Bernadette Peters. I'll plan to say more tomorrow.)
"How does it feel to have a daughter who's 36?" she asked. (We were conversing via the speaker phone feature on Evelyn's cell.)
"How do you think it feels to BE as old as WE are?" I responded. But I didn't speak our ages out loud.
With Bill and Verna at dinner, we were laughing about my tendency to puddle up. "I'm just so nostalgic," I said.
"It gets worse as we get older," Evelyn said.
I was talking about Jennifer's wedding with a friend at work. "She knew better than to ask me to perform it," I said. "I just hope the two of us can get down the aisle with dry eyes!"
If I shed a tear at the wedding (I can hear a couple of good friends: "If? IF?"), it won't be because I'm unhappy, or because I think she is.
"She sounds very happy," I said to Evelyn after the conversation was finished. What more could a parent want? She celebrated her birthday with her groom-to-be and his kids: Chinese buffet and then back home for the birthday cake he baked. She promised a picture. But for now, I'll post one of their family engagement pictures. (I think I've exercised remarkable restraint for not posting one of these before now.)
Yep, we're all getting older. And that's not a bad thing.

Community Service

Evelyn took the camera today to record the activity of her D-group at Cincinnati Christian University and their activity for the school's annual spring Community Service Day.
This year they went to St. Boniface Elementary School in Northside to make costumes for friend Cindi Cooper's upcoming spring musical, "Jungle Book."
They worked from about 9:00 a.m. till about 1:00 p.m., and Evelyn reports that Cindi was thrilled with all they were able to accomplish. I'm afraid she would have had to do all this cutting, sewing, taping, and hemming herself if she hadn't had this help.
Evelyn will go see the production next Tuesday, and I'm guessing we'll have more pictures then.

"Deep Change"

John Caldwell, 2012 ICOM
president, helped host
the meeting.

A busy day. Christian Standard's weekly e-news this morning. A bunch of correspondence about the upcoming Brazil trip and outstanding assignments. Spent the middle of the day at the Cincinnati edition of the Reset Tour, sponsored by International Conference on Missions at Christ's Church at Mason. A challenging discussion about how to respond to "deep change."
From the paper we read before the meeting: "We are living in a season of deep change that is both exponential and irreversible."

Dave Empson, director
of ICOM talked
about the future.

The subject was missions, but I kept thinking about the Christian churches, Christian Standard, and how the latter can serve the former. It's a cinch our little 16-page weekly hasn't adequately responded to today's "exponential and irreversible" changes.
It's late, and I'm tired. I'll keep thinking, and maybe have something to report here later.

Thankful for the Drugs

This is the medicine I take once a week to combat rheumatoid arthritis. Actually it, plus six little pink pills, methotrexate, keep at bay the aching shoulders, swollen joints, and other random pain that baffled me for months before I got this help. I've taken the medicine every Tuesday now for, I guess, a couple of years.

The Enbrel is an injection I give myself. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about that, but the other alternative was an infusion at the doctor's office, and I thought this had to be easier. It is. The SureClick Autoinjector is about the size of a bulky pen. The patient removes the white guard (at the right), presses that end firmly into his upper thigh, and pushes the blue button. It clicks once, and you watch it till that window in the center turns from clear to purple. The device clicks again when all the medicine has been delivered. 

The injectors come four to one of these boxes, three boxes at a time. That much medicine is shockingly expensive, but the insurance pays some, and Pfizer pays all but $10 per four weeks of the rest. What a blessing!

At first, the diagnosis made me feel very old, but then I learned that first diagnosis often comes to people 10 or 20 years younger than I. And although I'm taking two meds because one wasn't enough to cure the symptoms, I met a lady who takes three. The goal is to catch it early before there is permanent joint damage, and thankfully, we have caught it that early in my case.

I haven't made myself an expert on the disease. I don't know if it's been around for centuries, or if there is some poison in our air or water or food that has brought it to us in the industrial age and culture. But I do think about people in Bible times and before. If they had rheumatoid arthritis, they may have just suffered with it. (I know there are some foods that help, so maybe they knew much more than I about that.) I wonder if the aged John the Baptist stayed awake at night because he couldn't arrange his limbs in any way to get comfortable in the bed. I wonder if Solomon's description of aging in Ecclesiastes included this experience with rheumatoid arthritis.

Maybe not. But I'm very grateful for doctors and researchers who have found this way to help people like me. (And I try not to remember all the warnings I've skimmed in the small print filling a leaflet that comes with every box.)

Sunrise . . . Sunset

Do you ever stop to think how we take for granted the remarkable orderliness of our universe?
So, Mark, you're taking a picture of the sunrise and another of the sunset? Big deal, they happen every day.
Right . . . and isn't that a wonder, along with the changing seasons, and the minute-by-minute beating of my heart, and my hunger pangs every night just before bedtime? Well, maybe not that last one, but you see what I mean. The dependability of our universe, like the rhythm of our lives, is not boring; it's encouraging!
Today was encouraging for other reasons, too. For one, I had a nice break in the routine--a meeting in Indianapolis that took me out of the office from 8:30 till about 5:00. (I worked before and after the trip at the office to keep a few plates spinning.) The meeting . . . could be the beginning of something big, BUT that's all I'll say for this post. If nothing big comes from it, I'll remember what I was talking about when I read this post a year from now. And if something big DOES come from it, I'll post more details later.

I snapped a picture of the sunrise on the way to work. The rain clouds were blowing in, and it was raining by the time we were in the car for Indy. We drove through the front, and I didn't need my umbrella there--or when we were back home. The evening turned out sunny and breezy and lovely. So I snapped the sunset behind our neighborhood after I took out the trash. (Every Monday is trash night--there's that rhythm thing again.)

I'm pretty sure the sun will rise again tomorrow. But I'm not planning on taking a picture of it!

Simple . . . and Satisfying

This is the stuff of which a satisfying life is made:
Relaxed time with good friends.
Back and forth, iron-sharpening-iron conversations about ideas and problems all of you care about.
Touching base on the transitions and trials in our lives.
Evelyn and I are so fortunate to have friends like these. I've been mentioning them in my blog, because we're with some of them almost every week.
Friday night we grabbed dinner at Indigo Cafe in Hyde Park with Bill and Verna Weber, and then retreated to the Starbuck's across the parking lot from Joseph Beth Bookstore. We talked for the better part of an hour before finally paying for our seats by buying some coffee, and then talked for another hour before heading home about 10:30.
Saturday night Terry and Shirley Wuske came over for a simple supper. Evelyn made apricot chicken--a fairly easy recipe she had clipped from Taste of Home; it had been submitted by someone whose last name is Yoder, and we figured it had to be good. It was! Shirley brought a pumpkin pie--my favorite!--and we spent the evening talking about Terry's job possibilities, the possibilities and problems surrounding their plan to buy a house down the street from where they're living now, and Evelyn's work.
Everyday stuff, really, just like an everyday meal: nurturing, satisfying, and enjoyable.

Evelyn went on line to show Terry and Shirley Jen's engagement pictures she had posted on Facebook.

Today was a simple, enjoyable day too. The weather turned gloriously sunny, and after I finished off some Christian Standard work and Evelyn graded some papers, we Skyped with Wendy Wagoner. Then we were outside by a little after 3:00. Evelyn and I shared grass-mowing duties (this is number 5 or 6 so far this year, and it's only the middle of April), and I weeded and dug and transplanted in a couple perennial beds.
We ate our tomato soup and crackers and cheese and chips and guacamole and leftover fresh fruit from last night's dinner in front of 60 Minutes and their retrospective on Mike Wallace who died last week. One of my favorite things to do is to eat supper and watch 60 Minutes with Evelyn. Simple, satisfying, enjoyable.

One More Time!

For some reason, this video wasn't available on my post  a couple of days ago, so I'm trying again. Why?

Because I promised the young player, Sam Blackledge, that I would post it.

Because he is a wonderful musician--for someone of any age, but especially someone of his 14 years.

Because I wanted you to hear him.

And because, as I sit in my kitchen watching it pour rain outside, listening to Sam's mandolin brightens my afternoon, and maybe it will make you smile too.

I've spent the day inside after planning all week to spend most of the day outside. I'm watching the lawn and weeds in my backyard grow, even as I sit here typing at the computer. And there's digging and replanting to do out there! I usually sit at the desk or computer for an hour or two or three most Sunday afternoons, getting ahead or catching up on Christian Standard work. I decided to do a little of that this afternoon, with the hope that tomorrow I can get out in the yard.

It LOOKS as though this video will post nicely. My mood is going to match the weather if it doesn't work!

It's All About the People

Not long after I came to work at Standard Publishing, I often remarked, in something close to awe, that the best part of my job was the wonderful people I was able to meet from around the country, and even around the world. What a privilege I've had to know so many church leaders and their spouses, some of the finest souls on this earth. I've sat in committee and board meetings with them, and worked on projects with them, and listened to them speak in workshops and at conventions. Many have become more than acquaintances, and I've seen how they order their lives in a way that honors God and leads the church and influences the world.
Of course, I've worked more closely with some remarkable people too as I've taken on various jobs here at Standard Publishing. Maybe I'll take time to tell stories about some of them as I decide what to write day-by-day on this blog. But for now, I'll just picture two of them, whose picture I snapped yesterday at the end of the workday.

Matt Lockhart is vice president of product development here at Standard and the fellow I've reported to for the last year and a quarter.  Paul Williams has worked with me from Day One as editor-at-large of Christian Standard. Paul spent the day with me yesterday brainstorming about the future and helping me plan upcoming issues of the magazine. We had a good day, but the memory that brings the best smile to my face is this picture that reminds me of the many contributions each of these fellows has made to my work and my life. What a treasure to know and work with both of them!

Memories of Sam's Mandolin

A wonderful part of my day with the Keenagers at Round Lake Christian Assembly was the music. A group from Canton, called "Sounds of Eden," played and led singing throughout the day. They brought 14-year-old Sam Blackledge with them, and his playing was remarkable. After hearing them play in the morning, I decided I'd record them in the afternoon. Here's one of their songs, featuring Sam's  mandolin playing. Enjoy!

A Delightful Day

Yesterday was a most delightful day. I spent it at Round Lake Christian Assembly in north central Ohio where I was the main speaker for the camp's spring Keenagers Retreat (they have a Keenagers Retreat each fall too).

I asked them to pose for a picture before I began my second sermon.
The crowd was much sharper than this shot of them!

I could tell immediately that this was a crowd that a) mostly knew each other and b) had come to enjoy themselves. When dean Jeff Bullock got up to preside at the first session, I knew we were going to have fun. He joked with them. They laughed and giggled. The crowd was alive.
We sang camp songs and old hymns in a room that was filled with the sound of our voices. And they were a most responsive audience for my messages.

The workshops were all for everyone. Pat Hartson from NOAH (Northeastern Ohio Association of Helpers) shared some history of the Restoration Movement, especially in Ohio. Ralph Eichelberger and Lance Powers spoke about the ministry of Round Lake, as well as the new executive director, Scott Schoberg who showed a video that reminded us of the great work this magnificent camp is doing. Randy Richardson spoke about the ministry of Worthington Christian Village and other similar ministries in Ohio.

And Glen Wheeler led a segment called "Thirty Minutes of Laughter" that easily lived up to its name with this happy crowd.
A trio from Canton, Ohio, led the music and did a wonderful job.

I'll have more to say about this tomorrow or later this week.

A Retreat Day

Today I'm retreating with Keenagers at Round Lake Christian Assembly. The retreat planners discovered that I spoke at a senior citizens rally in Johnson City, Tennessee, and they figured I could speak for them too.

I'm glad. Round Lake is one of the premier camps in our fellowship, and it's good to see it as well as meet folks who are reading Christian Standard. I'm driving from Worthington, Ohio to the camp early this morning and back home later tonight. If I get home soon enough, maybe I'll post a couple pictures from the event!

My sermons:
"The Circle of Faith" based on 2 Timothy 2:2: 1) Learn. 2) Teach. 3) They teach. I'm thinking we keenagers have more to teach than anyone. Do we believe it?
"What Do You Want?" based on James 1:12-15. The brother of Christ says sin and death begin with evil desires. But good desires can lead to life. The question is, "What do you want?" I got the idea for this sermon after teaching on the text with a Sunday school class at Christ's Church at Mason last year.

Getting Ready for the Keenagers

This week we're sending four issues of Christian Standard
to the printer. Our annual megachurch
issue is the first of them.

The only thing more hectic than the day before vacation is the day before a business-related trip. Today I've dealt with correspondence, printer issues, marketing questions, and customer service problems. Today I wanted to spend editing copy for the June 3 issue of Christian Standard, thinking about art for those articles, and making a couple of assignments ahead. Actually, I'm getting some of that done too.

As soon as I can get away, I'm driving to Worthington, Ohio, to spend overnight with Marshall and Judy Hayden. And then tomorrow it's on to Round Lake Christian Camp, close to Mansfield, Ohio. I'm speaking at their daylong Keenagers Retreat tomorrow!  Cool,  huh? I'll drive home tomorrow evening after eating supper with my fellow keenagers. 

This morning it was my turn to lead our brief Monday-morning prayer time with folks here at Standard Publishing. I read an illustration from Tim Keller about a man who didn't believe in God and had a huge concrete slab installed on top of his grave with the words, "I do not want to be raised form the dead. I don't believe in it." But when he was buried, an acorn evidently fell into the grave, and in the next 100 years, a towering oak grew through the grave and split the slab.

"If an acorn, which has power of biological life in it, can split a slab of that magnitude, what can the acorn of God's resurrection power do in a person's life?"

Each of us wrote a fear or concern that was a slab threatening to separate us from seeing the power of God in our lives. We collected and redistributed the slips and then made them our prayer requests this morning. 

I dunno what this did for the small group assembled, but it was very helpful for me to consider how God's power might work in the face of situations that seem overwhelming or impossible in my life. 

On the drive today, I need to decide whether that's something I want to share with the Keenagers!

Easter with Friends

For some reason we still haven't figured out, we decided to go to the 8:00 service this morning. (Christ's Church at Mason offered five services: one at 8:00 and two each at 9:30 and 11:00.) There was a healthy, but not overflowing, crowd for the first service, and Jennifer got to see several friends. We had a reservation for 10:00 at Bronte Bistro for brunch, and we were home before noon.
Jennifer took a nap. Evelyn made food for our afternoon at the Webers place. I reread two editorials, looked at the sermons I'm preaching at Round Lake Christian Assembly, and got my clothes together for the trip. (I'm driving part way tomorrow evening and the  rest of the way early Tuesday morning.) Then I took a nap too.
We left about 3:30 to go to Bill and Verna Weber's place, where we enjoyed an Easter supper with them, Donovan and Jocelyn and Ruby and Nora, and Dave and Lisa Farris.

Ruby helped her mom blow out the candles
on the birthday cake while Grandma and Nora
looked on.

We enjoyed a bountiful spread of snacks, appetizers, dips, veggies, fruit, ham sandwiches, potato salad, and more. Tomorrow is Jocelyn's birthday, so birthday cake followed our meal, as well as hunting for candy eggs "hidden" prominently around the condo, and a game of conversation starters: "Tell the naughtiest thing you ever did," "The most unusual food I ever ate," "I wouldn't care if I never               again." Etc.
Lots of laughter. Lots of catching up. Lots of EATING. A great way to spend a holiday afternoon and evening.

Easter Bunnies and Eternity

I was standing in the produce aisle at Kroger's today, and a woman wearing bunny ears and with whiskers painted on her face hurried by and said to me, "Do you know anything about asparagus?"
I saw she was wearing a Kroger's nametag and figured out later (when she checked out my groceries!) she was a customer service clerk.
"Uh, I always try to buy the thin stems," I said. (A rule of life: If someone asks you a question, your great tendency is to assume you know the answer. This tendency should often be resisted.)
"That sounds good," she said and grabbed a bunch before hopping, I mean hurrying, away.
The store was crowded today. Lots of pre-Easter shopping going on. A woman in the candy aisle was on her cell phone asking someone (her daughter? her neighbor?) what kind of sweets to buy for the Easter baskets. I came upon this display and couldn't resist snapping it.
As I navigated my cart through the crowded aisles, I thought about the PBS special we had recorded and got around to watching this week. Part of the American Experience series, it was a two-hour documentary on the Amish. Part of their rationale for staying separate from the "Gentiles" is their effort to focus on God and not get too attached to this world. Their goal is to escape American consumerism, a thought that too seldom occurs to too few of us--me included.
One young Amish father said he asked a group of tourists (millions visit Amish sites every year), "How many of you have a television in your house?" Every hand went up. "How many of you worry that the television isn't good for you family?" Slowly, a majority answered this one yes too. "How many of you will get rid of your television to protect your family?" Not one hand went up.
"But we would do anything to protect our families," he said. "We would remove anything that threatened our family."
Another Amish man was pondering life and death and life's difficulties. "Our lives are just a speck of sand in the vast expanse of eternity," he said.
"Most of us don't think that way," my friend Bill Weber said when we visited yesterday.
"Most Americans certainly don't," I agreed. "Including many American Christians." Including, too often, me.
Hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to grasp the wonder of the fact that the God of eternity and the Creator of the universe was willing to inhabit one of those specks of sand, just so the rest of us could know him.
Ah, tomorrow we'll enjoy some Easter ham and Easter candy and, who knows, maybe even some asparagus. But hopefully we'll also glimpse at least a glimmer of eternity. That promise is the reason we celebrate.

A Good Friday

It was a good Friday!
Highlights of here's why:
Had coffee and breakfast with Bill Weber midmorning, a satisfying heart-to-heart conversation about what's going on in our lives.

We demonstrated that we can be as exuberant as the 

Pinocchio statue in front of the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Drove home, picked up Evelyn and Jennifer, and then we drove to Weber's condo and picked up Verna for a trip to the Cincinnati Art Museum. Our goal was to see the temporary Monet exhibit. We were able to enjoy it and see a bunch of other stuff there too, including a temporary Picasso exhibit.

Stopped by Krohn Conservatory to see the Spring Blooms show, and then dropped Verna back home before heading to Patricia's Cakes where Jen made final selections of cake flavors and size of cake for our big day June 30. This involved getting acquainted with the delightful Patricia herself. She's been baking wedding cakes for at least four decades, about half of that time in her own business. This also involved tasting several flavors of cakes and fillings. Yum!

By the time we were finished, it was after 5:00, but we were too full of cake to eat supper. So we headed straight for Kenwood Mall, where Evelyn and Jennifer shopped for Easter clothes (they didn't buy any), a wedding dress for Nina (no luck there, either), and made a couple of passes at wedding dresses for Evelyn (so far we've purchased only one, which has been in the closet for two or three weeks).  :-)

We left the mall as it was closing and went to LaRosa's for a late dinner. Altogether, the three of us were gone for about eight hours, much of it walking on concrete, and even the young member of our trio said she was tired at the end of our good Friday.

The Spring Blooms flower show included several plants we more often see in the summer.

One Day in the Life of an Extrovert

When I interact with people, I feel energized, even if the situation is difficult.
When I sit alone and stew about my situation, I feel negative--either frustrated or worried or afraid, or maybe bored--depending on how negative the situation is. This is a classic description of an extrovert, and, of course, anyone who knows me knows I am a CLASSIC EXTROVERT.
Well, all I can say is that I felt both ends of the pendulum today, energized in some difficult situations and negatively stewing in at least one. If this were a real diary instead of a public one, I'd elaborate. But, once again, "it wouldn't be prudent."
Some highlights:
Spoke with Stephanie Woeste, our v.p. of marketing, about next steps for making the decision to take Christian Standard monthly.
Read two proofs (one for The Lookout and one for Christian Standard), prepared some posts for Jim Nieman to post on the web, worked with him to decide the final layout for our May 27 issue, and worked with him to choose and edit some Letters to the Editor for that issue.
Went with Bob Wallace to have lunch with Larry Collins and Abi Platt to discuss Standard's relationship with and sponsorship of the North American Christian Convention.

Unbeknownst to us, Skyline was celebrating Opening Day by offering a free coney with every order. Lucky we
got there at 11:30 ahead of the crowd. I gave my free coney to Bob Wallace.  :-)

Participated in a conference call with representatives of our printer to discuss a couple of hiccups in their mailing and distribution of our magazines.
Met with Matt Lockhart as we do most Thursdays. Discussion today included how the company will respond to revenue shortfalls and the 9-month projection for the magazines budget. I submitted the budget I had created to the finance department. Handled a bunch of e-mails that I owed, and gathered and planned work to do this weekend.
Arrived home to find Jennifer here, as we planned. Evelyn fixed us a nice dinner, and we've spent the evening visiting, looking at the disc with all of her engagement pictures, hanging out.
Now I'm relaxed and energized. I'll allow the reader to guess when I felt different during the day. When I read this a year from now, I'm sure I'll remember the answer.

Problems? Not Really

I'm stealing a few minutes during my volunteer duty at the Benefit Bank this evening--so far I haven't seen any guests. I looked through my Bible study for tomorrow morning--Romans 16, lots of names, maybe not lots of application. I want to see the questions in the margins of the Serendipity Bible; more often than not they are my salvation!
I'm scrambling at work to get through my to-do lists, a process frustrated by . . .
1) news that Christian Standard's printer (Lookout's too) made a major error in mailing our last batch of magazines, requiring conversations, requests for a conference call tomorrow, and the need to spend time getting the printer to solve the problem.
2) the lack of action on our decision to go monthly with Christian Standard; I'm concerned about our inability to pull the trigger on this.
3) the scurrying and worrying all around me with talk of missed revenue goals and concern for what actions will address that problem.

I looked at myself in the mirror today and said out loud, "You're starting to look old." They say you're only as old as you feel, so maybe my feelings are coloring my view of thinning hair and hollow eyes staring back at me when I look up from washing my hands at work.

One more day of work this week and then a long weekend. Jennifer will be here for Easter and for wedding-planning meetings, and we'll see friends and go to worship. And I will spend at least a few hours reading or writing to cross items off those to-do lists that don't get finished tomorrow.

—————

And now I'm finishing this blog post back at home. I was interrupted by the opportunity to serve a guest at the Healing Center. But I couldn't really help her much. Her husband has just found a job that pays $40,000 per year. Her $9-an-hour job doing tax returns will end in two weeks. The combination of their two jobs will just push her family of four above the income limits for receiving government medical assistance for her daughter whose condition causes large medical bills. But when her job is over, they should still qualify. The health insurance offered by her husband's new employer would cost her family $1,300 per month with a $5,000 deductible before the policy paid the first dime, and they decided they just can't pay that much for health insurance. So she needs to be sure the department of family services doesn't cancel her daughter's benefits during this 2- or 3-week overlap of her job and her husband's.

This is a good woman, a worker, a mother who cares about her family, simply struggling to survive. And I realize once again, that in the big picture of things, I don't really have any problems.

Good-bye Tony

Tony was the guy who owned the One Hour Martinizing shop where we used to do most of our drycleaning. I say "used to" because I found a cleaner on the way to work that washes and irons my shirts for much less than Martinizing was charging. But we still take the true dry cleaning to Tony's shop, because we trust his work to be better. But Tony's not there any more.

When I dropped off a couple pair of slacks and a sport coat Monday morning, two guys I'd never seen before, wearing "One Hour Martinizing" name tags and eager smiles, greeted me as I came and went. Hmmm, I thought. These don't look like two guys Tony hired.

As I drove out, I peered through the windows into the shop to look for the framed newspaper article clipped and posted just after Tony opened the place. It showed a smiling Tony in a sport coat (I never saw him in one in person), bragging about the unique method and service One Hour Martinizing offered. The spot on the wall where it had greeted us was bare, save for a small nail hole.

"Yeah, he sold the place last Friday," the kid said who fetched my clean clothes this evening. And, really, I wasn't surprised.

Sometime this winter I talked with Tony when I had made another drop-off. When Tony was there, you always talked with him. I forget his last name, but it was Italian, and Tony--always effusive, always a kidder, always beating you at the door to open it for you with a hearty greeting--fit perfectly the stereotype. Something else about Tony--he always remembered my name and Evelyn's name and always asked me about her when he saw me there alone. And we were not big customers by any means. I was always surprised when he said, "Come on in here, Mark" as he held open the door on a chilly or rainy evening.

He told me the shop made a profit of only $60,000+ last year on business of almost a half million. Taxes, accountants, Social Security benefits, unemployment and other insurance, plus rent and the cost of materials took the bulk of what he brought in. He was discouraged with the situation. And last week he sold the place.

"What's he doing," I asked the kid.

"I dunno," he said. "Traveling the world. Selling something."

Ah, yes, Tony was the quintessential salesman. And I'm guessing he figured his charm and hard work could earn him more working for someone else than working for himself.

My takeaways:
1) Owning your own business and "working for yourself" often means that the business owns you and you work for everyone walking in the door.

2) Even with all the moxie of a Tony, it's hard for a small businessman to make it today.

3) Tony sold quality and service, but I'm still taking the bulk of my business to someplace that does it well enough and a lot cheaper. There's always a place for the business that appeals to misers like me.