Go East, Old Man!

Flew home today from California. Drove to LAX via Pacific Coast Highway from Camarillo where I spent two nights with Charlie and Bev Maloney.
We had a great day yesterday--long visit sitting at the bar between their kitchen and dining room over a great breakfast Bev had cooked.  Then a drive up the coast to Santa Barbara. It was a splendid, sunny, warm afternoon. The ocean sparkled around the Santa Barbara Pier where we wandered among the shops, enjoyed the views of the shore and the sailboats and yachts, and finally ate supper at a restaurant at the end of the pier, Moby Dick's. I had wonderful fried scallops and lobster bisque--very good, indeed!

Then we came home, I grabbed a 20-minute nap on their couch, and then we went to a presentation by Samaritan's Purse at their church. We came home to enjoy a little snack plus another piece of the wonderful pumpkin pie Beverly had bought at Costco (I'm gonna look for one of those here!).
It was a relaxing day, catching up with two lifelong friends, surrounded by beauty and in their comfortable home. I'm really glad I took the chance to go visit them instead of flying straight back from Hope after speaking there Thursday.
The drive along the Pacific Coast Highway through Malibu to Santa Monica is a nice experience. I didn't want to take a chance on getting tied up and missing my plane, so I didn't stop along the way, but there are some wonderful vistas there. It was a peaceful way to end the trip. I sang hymns and had a brief worship time while I drove, remembering the body and blood of Christ as I sang and drove. (I definitely don't believe we all ought to go out and "have church" alone in nature instead of "assembling with the saints." But if one must miss church, taking time to actually remember it's the Lord's Day while you're alone is better than ignoring it altogether.)
Read a little better than half the proof for Christian Standard's November issue on the plane on the way home. After 9:00, Evelyn and I watched the premier of a new series, "Elementary," she had taped earlier this week. I think we'll watch it again!
I'm looking forward to tying up a bunch of loose ends at work this week.

My California Tour

I’m in the middle of what my friend Charlie Maloney dubbed my “California Tour.” It’s been a great way to reconnect with old friends on their own turf since I was coming anyway to speak at Hope International University.

I arrived Wednesday evening, and Dr. Joseph Grana picked me up from LAX and navigated the freeway traffic down to Fullerton, where the school is located. Joe and I have known each other for 50 years—we were kids together in the same youth group in Waukegan, Illinois—but I think this week was the most time we’ve spent together in decades. It was great to catch up with him and learn more about his life and ministry. Great, too, to see him in action interacting with colleagues and students. I sat in on one of his classes and really enjoyed his review of the first chapters of Acts. His easy interaction with the students as well as grasp of the material demonstrated his effectiveness as a professor.

Another joy was meeting Hope’s campus minister, Bryan Sands, who, among other things, plans and organizes the school’s chapel sessions. He was very organized, tending to every detail, but he had an easy rapport with the students who conducted the service I attended.

This week’s chapel was an a capella service. “Worship is more than music,” Bryan acknowledged, but even so, since music is such an important element, “there’s more than one way to use music in worship.” Thursday’s worship team, about eight young men and women, led us in a hymn and several worship choruses, complete with vocal percussion and full harmony. I really enjoyed it.

I also enjoyed interacting with several students, among them one young man who is earnestly seeking to discover God’s call on his life. It was humbling and encouraging to talk with him about how to figure out where God wants to use him after college.

Thursday at noon I enjoyed a wonderful lunch served in the college president’s dining room with Joe Grana, a couple of other faculty and administrators, and the guest of honor, Floyd Strater. Floyd has been a church builder, an encourager of other ministers, a friend, and a kingdom builder wherever he has served, whether Enid Oklahoma, Springfield, Illinois, or Anaheim, California. After finishing his ministry at Knott Avenue Christian Church in Anaheim, he served for several years on the staff of Hope International (then Pacific Christian College). In that role, he traveled to churches throughout Southern California preaching, advising, consulting, building up. He served on Standard Publishing’s Publishing Committee for 40 years (“the most enjoyable group I ever was a part of,” he told me) and was a leader and influencer with the North American Christian Convention.

We sat and talked and reminisced and laughed for almost three hours, and it was great to be with him. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease about a year ago, and so his activity has been curtailed. But his spirit is as vibrant as ever.

Thursday afternoon I sat in on Bob Mink’s class, and then we grabbed dinner at the Cheesecake Factory before he navigated the freeways back to his home in Moreno Valley, California. Bob was a year behind me and Evelyn at Cincinnati Bible Seminary, and we’ve stayed long-distance friends ever since. He, too, led a dynamic class session—I learned some stuff in it!—and related well to his students. I really enjoyed talking with him about his ministry and mine and pondering where the next few years would take us.

Friday morning Becky Ahlberg picked me up at the school and treated me to breakfast at Mimi’s Café before taking me on a tour of her ministry in Anaheim, My Safe Harbor. It’s an outreach to the urban community in Anaheim and beyond, principally to single mothers who have missed the positive influences and support and accountability that all of us need to survive. She’s doing a wonderful work there, in addition to her fine arts ministries at First Christian Church of Anaheim, which owns the building that houses My Safe Harbor.

Glenn and Carolyn posed just before he left to
preach a funeral.

From Anaheim I drove to West Hills where Glenn and Carolyn Kirby serve the West Valley Christian Church. It was a treat to see the large complex of buildings the church owns and uses not only for weekend services but for a Christian school and a host of community activities. We enjoyed lunch together and a long visit (again about what our ministries will look like between now and retirement ahead) before Glenn had to go preach a funeral at 3:00. I showed wedding pictures to Carolyn and then was off for Camarillo before 3:30.

I’m writing this from the home of Charlie and Bev Maloney in Camarillo, where Charlie has preached for the Christian church here for 30 years. We’ve been friends since college days more than 40 years ago; they were in our wedding; Evelyn was in theirs; Charlie and I sang in a quartet together, and he and Bev and I were a part of the school’s very first Come Alive Singers.

It’s great just to relax and catch up—and laugh!—with them. I’m glad I can hang out with them all day today before I head for LAX and home tomorrow.

Westward Bound

I miss visiting California, all these years after Jennifer moved away from there. Evelyn says she'd never live there, and I don't expect to get the chance. But I'm pleased with the opportunity to speak at Hope International University's chapel session tomorrow morning, and I'm flying out this afternoon for LAX. I decided while I was there I'd visit some old friends, and I've arranged quite a line-up: Bob Mink, Becky Ahlberg, Glenn and Carolyn Kirby, and Charlie and Bev Maloney. All of them current or former partners in ministry or former classmates or both. I'm flying back Sunday, but before then I hope to have some pictures of palm trees under sunny skies and maybe some ocean shots to post on my blog.
I was up early this morning for the kick-off breakfast for our men's Bible study. After the 6:00 meeting at Cracker Barrel, I drove home to pack and look at my sermon. Then I was back at the office by 10:15 or so to have an impromptu meeting, catch up on some correspondence, and do some assigning for future issues. Left there after 1:30, and now I'm hanging out at the Starbucks with a decaf latte before my plane starts boarding in a few minutes.
For only about $30 more than any other price I was finding, I came across the nonstop flight and said to myself, "Oh yes, that's what I'm taking." Otherwise, I probably would have been here at noon.
I want to look at the sermon some more on the plane, and I figure I'll be up early in the morning to work some more on getting in mind, with a section here and there memorized.
I doubt I'll be blogging again till after that, but I do have some free time in the afternoon tomorrow, so I'm thinking that might be the right time for some computer time.

A Full Day, an Attractive Deck

Spent the day at my desk, crossing off items that must be finished before I leave town tomorrow afternoon. Got quite a bit done! Wrote my column that will be posted Thursday at ChristianStandard.com. Prepared copy for the Christian Standard e-newsletter that will go out tomorrow or Thursday. Looked at the first proof for our November issue and worked on pagination and some layout tweaks with our managing editor, Jim Nieman. Handled details for the trip: downloaded Mapquest directions for the driving around I'll be doing Friday thru Sunday; checked in with Delta and printed my boarding pass. Did a bit of assigning for an upcoming issue.
Got my haircut after work, and Evelyn and I enjoyed chicken salad leftover from the weekend for supper.
Decided to snap a picture or two of the flowers on our deck. They won't be with us much longer. There has been some frost around here already. I was pruning and feeding the flowering plants, urging them to bloom some more, especially before our company came last weekend. The blooms are not as abundant as in July, but the plants are quite healthy, and the display is still pretty.
One thing about a garden in pots is this: when something starts doing poorly, you can just hide it or remove it. When something that looked puny finally takes off, it can move to center stage. I've enjoyed arranging and rearranging them throughout the summer to give us a pretty view out our breakfast-table window.
But when the frost comes, I won't be sad that I don't have to water any more!
Watering won't be a problem when I'm gone this week, because rain is predicted almost every day for the rest of the week. Maybe some of that grass seed the lawn service put down will sprout!

Catching Up, Cleaning Up

I guess you could say I took a break from posting this weekend. I didn't really intend to do that, but the weekend was so busy I just didn't have time to write anything coherent.
And, even though the weekend was filled with activity, unfortunately I didn't take any pictures either. So I'll just have to draw some word pictures.
Friday evening I rushed home from work in time to gather up Evelyn and get to Wuskes after 6:00 for dinner. Todd and Lynn Dillon and Dave and Monica Roberson joined us at the rehabbed, remodeled home that has demanded the blood, sweat, tears, and mostly toil of Terry and Shirley since they moved in to this place this spring.
When we drove into the driveway and saw flower pots with asters and pansies greeting us at the door, when we stepped into their living room amid the glow of the lamps and looked around at the perfectly coordinated walls and drapes and upholstery, when we saw the dining room table set with fresh flowers and autumn-themed napkins and candle holders, we thought we were walking through the set for a magazine photo shoot. Everyone was gathered on their back porch and looking at their expansive, park-like back yard, and all of us agreed they're living in a green oasis in the middle of the city.
The ladies had brought salads, and Terry cooked giant hamburgers on the grill before Shirley topped them with a cheesy mushroom mix unlike any treat I've ever tasted before.
We laughed and talked till past 8:30 and then adjourned to our house for dessert and our overnighter.
We had bought pies from Graeter's, and we snuggled around our kitchen table enjoying Dutch apple or pumpkin (or both!) and decaf. The last person didn't shuffle off to bed till well after midnight.
The next morning the pajama party continued as the coffee pot started brewing by 7:30. Monica had brought a coffee cake, and Lynn brought a breakfast casserole to bake. Evelyn kept the coffee coming and made a big fruit salad. We ate and talked till after noon, and I had to leave the fun for a meeting at the church that kept me there from 1:00 till 5:00.
Evelyn made chicken salad, and the group enjoyed a bounteous lunch that also included fresh tomatoes, cranberry salad, leftovers from the night before, and mini croissants. But the Robersons and Dillons had left by the time I arrived back home.
We had planned to go to an International Fireworks competition at Coney Island that night. But 20 mph winds in a 50-degree evening were giving us second thoughts. And all of us, older people that we are, were feeling too tired for adventure. So we took the Wuskes home and grabbed some dinner at Panera before returning to their house to finish off the pies.
We left there by 9:00, I was in bed reading the Wall Street Journal by 9:45, and the lights were out by 10:15. We fell dead asleep, both of us, and it was wonderful!
Sunday Evelyn and I stood at the Welcome Center before and after first service, and then headed for home about 11:00. I took the car to get the oil changed, and then we had a wonderful lunch of leftover chicken salad and other delights from the Saturday lunch. I hauled hoses around the yard, trying to get some water on it since a lawn service had aerated the lawn and put down grass seed. In between watering, I brought the check book up-to-date, we had a nice phone visit with Jennifer, and I finished the PowerPoint for the sermon I'm preaching this week at Hope.
We ate a little snack and then drove over to Starbucks at Union Centre Blvd to visit with Bill and Verna Weber at 7:00. We hadn't seen them for at least two weeks, and we had a bunch of catching up to do. We left after 9:00 and headed home to finish getting ready for the next morning and the new week.
It was a full but rich weekend. We're so thankful to have friends who are so much fun while offering so much substance and interest to our lives.
I do have some pictures for this post, though. I'm keeping my word to show my office after the clean-up day Friday. One responder on Facebook said she thought my "before" pictures were the "after" shots. I hope no one things the true "after" pictures, below, should really be the "befores."
Think what you will, I hauled armload after armload out of that office to the recyling bins. We won't talk about what's in the file drawers (and the fact that I don't really know what all's in those file drawers). At least I cut through the clutter, put papers where I can find them easily again, and emptied up a bunch of desk space. (And, yes, the disinfectant wipes came in handy when I got down to those flat surfaces and realized how dirty they were!)

Clean out, Throw away, Straighten, Tidy

The mandate from the top office came through today: "Tidy up your desks; take all the papers, job bags, and other debris off the top of file cabinets; clear every flat surface, get boxes off the floor. We're coming through to spot clean the carpet, and disinfectant wipes will be available." (I'm not kidding!)

Well, I've had clean your desk on my to-do list for weeks. I try to straighten up my office once every six months whether it needs it or not. I'm thinkin' the time is now. I decided to take a few shots of my messy workplace as added motivation (as if the CEO weren't enough) to clear out, throw away, and make neat. I'll take some "after" pictures tomorrow.

Evelyn and I both worked at the Healing Center tonight. We both had good experiences and felt like it was worth our time to be there. She zoomed home to finish cleaning and straightening in anticipation of overnight company tomorrow night. And I got home later to join her.

I think we're ready!

Memories Are Made of This

On full days in busy weeks, posting to this "diary" is one more item on the to-do list. "How long are you going to keep this up? When is your year up?" I've been a little surprised by those questions from more than one source, because I don't remember saying I would do this just for a year. But if I did, even that sounds like awhile from now. But that's the tired me talking.
Actually today was a pretty productive day. Got a draft of my sermon for next week done, except for the introduction. But I have so much material to possibly use for the introduction, I'm pretty sure I can get it ready in a couple of hours.
Tomorrow I have to prepare the expense budget for the magazines for 2013, but I don't really think that will take much longer than half a day, so I can work some more on the sermon tomorrow, and that leaves Friday to finish up the sermon or the budget or both. Then I'll work on memory/getting it in mind Monday-Wednesday next week.
This weekend we'll be busy Friday evening and all day Saturday with Wuskes, Dillons, and Robersons: Dinner Friday at Wuskes and dessert and overnight at our house afterwards. Then pajamas and breakfast all morning Saturday. I have a meeting at church Saturday afternoon (and they'll probably continue "fellowshipping"). Then Wuskes and we are planning on going to a fireworks competition Saturday evening at Coney Island.
So no work on Saturday, for work or at home. And plenty of work here at home before Friday evening.
We're almost ready!
One of my before-Friday deadlines is getting some wedding pictures together to show our guests. In a hurry at Kroger's tonight on the way home from work, I found their one album. (Got the pictures printed at Costco's at lunchtime.)
Not sure this is going to be the permanent holder for our "memories," but it's better, I guess than a stack of prints.

One of Hundreds

OK, so I don't have a picture for today's blog. I admit it. But I chose this picture, because this evening I hope to finish sorting through the baZILLION wedding pictures we DO have to choose some for an album I'm creating. I want to have some to show to company that's coming for dinner this weekend, and then I want to take the album to California with me next week to show to some old friends, good friends I'll be visiting with then.
So it IS legitimate that I use one of these wedding pictures with today's blog.
Jennifer made me promise not to "go wild on Facebook" with all these pictures till she had a chance to share them herself, which is a fair request. But since she already posted this one on her page, I figure my reposting it doesn't qualify as going wild. :-)

Choosing several dozen to share with friends is a big challenge, because we have HUNDREDS of good pictures. But I have to agree with Jennifer. This is one of the best!

Evelyn and I cut grass after work and then ran to Izzy's for supper. Haven't had one of those wonderful Reuben sandwiches in months. It was a good choice!

What Can I Say?

The sun was peeking in and out of the clouds as I drove to work this morning.

The show seemed like the perfect precursor to predicted rain.

But we didn't get a drop at home, and only some sprinkles around the office where I work.

It was a busy day, filled largely with meetings about issues not ready to be discussed on the Web and in this blog. 


1) Participated in a conference call with several people about an important decision. Can't tell you what it is.


2) Left there to hurry to a lunch meeting with a good person about an intriguing idea. Can't tell you who he is or what we discussed.


3) Stayed late at work, zoomed through the drive-thru at Wendy's (got my favorite: root beer frosty float) and made it on time for a 7:00 meeting nearby. Can't tell you why I was invited.


Spent most of the rest of the day chained to my desk trying to finish preparations for our art meeting tomorrow morning for the November Christian Standard. And I've already written about what a good issue that's going to be.

So that leaves me with very little to write about this evening, except to say that my to-do list for this week is very long, so I'm going to try to get to work early tomorrow to jump back into it.

Positive Impressions

Today we introduced two friends to the Taft Museum, a little treasure tucked into a corner of downtown that is always fun to visit. Cindi Cooper and Evelyn both decided they wanted to see the special exhibit there. It was ending today, and Sunday admission to the museum is free, so this was the perfect day to go. "Old Masters to Impressionists—Three Centuries of French Painting" was the special exhibit. We drove Dan and Cindi downtown to visit the museum after church.
We enjoyed it as well as a relatively quick browse through the main museum, and then walked through the small garden outside the museum (I've never done that before; I think we've always been here in cold weather). We had come almost straight from church. Stopped at Bronte Bistro for brunch on the way. Each of us had something different, and every meal was wonderful: trail mix pancakes, spinach and mushroom omelette, eggs and bacon, and breakfast burrito. Bronte Bistro is one of our favorite places to eat.
It was glorious day, warm but not hot, sunny and dry. Evelyn and I ran some errands on the way home and were here by about 3:30. I worked outside for a couple of hours, took a shower, edited one article, and then helped Evelyn fix supper. We watched some TV and ate bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches (tomatoes from the garden).
Quite a pleasant Sunday, although quite a few items on the to-do lists have not yet been checked off.

I persuaded Evelyn and Cindi to pose in the garden outside the museum.

Party!

To tell you the truth, I wasn't really looking forward to the annual neighborhood block party. Seems strange, in a way, since I'm the extrovert, "energized by people," and all that. I can do very well with one person I don't know--make conversation, ask questions, show interest, crack a joke. But a whole group of 'em intimidates me a little, especially if they turn out to be a bunch of men talking about sports that I don't know anything about.
But we had a great time at the party this evening. Found plenty of people to talk with, about stuff they wanted to talk about. Reconnected with neighbors we know. Met a nice, new couple. They're empty nesters like we are, only about 10 or 15 years younger (kids are 20 and 21, I think they said). He's an ordained Methodist minister who went into medical work but started his career as a music teacher. He plays organ and piano and sings and used to direct choirs. They're interested in the symphony and other cultural things in Cincinnati--moved here from Cleveland. I hope we can connect with them again. They're church shopping, and we invited them to our church. We're going to give them a list of neighborhood names and addresses, and I just told Evelyn we should take them a church paper when we do.
Today was a beautiful day. Started out chilly, but it was sunny all day and was pleasantly warm by the afternoon. I paid bills in the morning and then went to the Post Office, farmer's market, and grocery store. We Skyped with Wendy around noon, and I did some work for work at the computer this afternoon. Then we were at the block party by 6:00.
I wore a long-sleeved T-shirt down there, and it felt good by the time we came home at 8:30.
I think it will be pretty like that tomorrow afternoon, too, and if so, I hope to spend a little time outside.

Friday Bargains

This is the first Friday night in three that Evelyn and I have been left to fall back on our traditional routine: dinner out and then shopping. Tonight (and today) it was time for discounts:
• A $10-off coupon at Ruby Tuesday's. (I had high hopes after having sworn off the place a couple of years ago. But nothing in our meal made us think, "Hey! We'll go back there again!" But we DID get $10 off!)    :-)
• A 50% off sale at the Lands' End Store in Sears. "Let's just walk through," we said. I found a navy blue cotton sweater and some gray pants (I know, pretty boring. But I've been wanting a navy V-neck, and the pants were a lighter, concrete gray--not dark like the ones I already have). The retail (who pays this much for this stuff?) was $105 for the two garments, and I got 'em for $35 plus tax. Not bad for two high-quality garments sure to last and last (Lands' End does sell good stuff!).
• Evelyn didn't find anything at Lands' End, but she had already snagged her bargain: a $15 red rain coat at Snooty Fox. Snooty Fox is a consignment shop just outside Wetherington and beside the Meijer's parking lot where Evelyn meets Cindi Cooper to car pool most days. Evelyn has a LOT of clothes from there--but I always have to admit, they're good bargains.
Most of my day was spent editing on our November issue--some good stuff in there, all about missions: Doug Priest, Doug Lucas, Tom Moen, Mike Sweeney, Dave Empson, Bill Weber, Kendi Howells Douglas, Ash Barker are the writers. A heavyweight group.
Tomorrow will be our first Saturday in three to be home. Lots of typical Saturday stuff to do, including some yard errands and other errands. The neighborhood block party and cookout is at 5:30; we'll go mingle and chat.

A Child Is Born

Last week I showed proof pages from the October Christian Standard, including Dudley Rutherford's smiling face leading off one of the articles. Today I snapped this picture of the actual October issue. Our samples came overnight from the printer this morning. I hope readers will like it. Another of my favorite articles is the one pictured here, by Pat Magness, who teaches at Milligan College. She does an excellent job surveying contemporary fiction written from a Christian perspective. I learned a lot by reading her piece, and discovered some books I'd like to read!
Spent this morning editing on the November issue and handling correspondence, including with authors who are writing for January. Spent most of the afternoon on the phone. Paul Williams and I spent almost two hours brainstorming authors and angles for February and March issues. More assigning will be on my to-do list next week! (But November editing is at the top of the list for tomorrow.)

Not Skeptical, Not a Pollyanna

Sometimes I have tried to analyze my tendency to bounce between being Pollyanna on the one extreme and cynical and skeptical on the other. I thought about that again today as I reflected on two events from the day.
One was a conference call with Doug Foster and Robert Welch to plan details for the Stone-Campbell Dialogue that will meet in Dallas this November. The Dialogue has been meeting for several years now, long before I was associated with it. It is an effort to acquaint leaders from all three streams of the Stone-Campbell movement in discussions to help them see where they agree and to foster Christian unity among the three groups.
The cynical side of me says, "Dialogue. Talk. Discussion. That's great, but what is accomplished in all of this? And are we experiencing unity richer, fuller, or more obvious now than before all the talk began?"
I'm still not sure I have an answer for all those questions, but I do believe the meeting we'll experience in Dallas this November will be worth the time of all who attend. We are planning a spiritual disciplines retreat, led by a lady from the churches of Christ and attended not only by the Dialogue team members, but also by 14 or 15 "young leaders," 5 from each of the streams, who minister in the Metroplex area. It will be a way to broaden the acquaintance of others with the goals and people in the Dialogue. And I believe it will be a worthwhile event just for itself, regardless of any future implications or lack of them.
Late this afternoon I sat in with the VBS production team to talk about an article about Standard Publishing's 2013 VBS in the January issue of Christian Standard.
At first I was skeptical and critical of the decision to introduce a VBS theme based so closely on a previous course. ("God's Big Backyard" was Standard's 2008 VBS.) But after talking with Matt Lockhart and the VBS team, I can see all the reasons for doing this, all the ways next year's course will be different and better than the previous one, and all the creative and new features users will enjoy in "God's Backyard Bible Camp." I'm looking forward to laying this all out there in an interview-format article that will appear in our January issue.

Connected? Yes. Alienated? Yes

Interesting statistics and golden quotes I've gathered for the sermon I'm putting together to preach at Hope International University in a couple of weeks. The general subject is "How to Stay Connected."

The average user spends 20 minutes per visit on Facebook, and 23% of Facebook's users check their account five or more times every day.

There are an estimated 400 million smartphones across the globe, and one expert estimates that number will rise to 1 billion within a few years, because "more and more people are doing everything on their smartphones. Last year, for the first time, sales of smartphones and tablets surpassed those of laptop and desktop computers. Daily time spent on apps now exceeds time spent online on laptops and desktops.

New York Times columnist Tom Friedman recently wrote, "The world has gone from connected to hyperconnected."

"The more we wed ourselves to social networking as a strategy for building community, the more we risk forgetting that the problems in our communities do not hinge upon lack of access to shared information about each other's lives.

"Americans in the 21st century devote more technology to staying connected than any society in history, yet somehow the devices fail us: Studies show that we feel increasingly alone. Our lives are spent in a tug-of-war between conflicting desires--we want to stay connected, and we want to be free. We lurch back and forth, reaching for both. . . . Our society is in the midst of a dramatic and progressive slide toward disconnection." --Utne Reader

Of 44,000 patients 45 or older living with heart disease or the risk of it over a four-year period, nearly 8% of those younger than 65 who lived alone died, compared to 5.7% of those who lived with others. Older individuals who said they felt "lonely" had a 45% higher risk of death than those who were not, according to a second study. 

"We are living in an isolation that would have been unimaginable to our ancestors, and yet we have never been more accessible. Over the past three decades, technologhy has delivered to us a world in which we need not be out of contact for a fraction of a moment. . . . Yet within this world of instant and absolute communication, unbounded by limits of time or space, we suffer from unprecedented alienation. We have never been more detached from one another, or lonelier. In a world consumed by er more novel modes of socializing, we have less and less actual society. We live in an accelerating congradiction: the more connected we become, the lonelier we are. We were promised a global village; instead we inhabit the drab cu lde-sacs and endless freeways of a vast suburb of information."--Stephen Marche in the Atlantic.

Growth Is a Wonderful Thing

I was looking through old blog posts today, and I came across this picture of my tomato plants after they'd been in the ground 2 or 3 weeks (right). For me (I know few others will care that much, but hey, it IS my diary!), I decided to also post the picture above showing how they look today.

The one on the right is laden down with yellow cherry tomatoes. The one on the left was labeled "Beefsteak," but the tomatoes really have been more salad sized. The one in the middle is about done. It's a Brandywine, and we've had a few, just a few really tasty fruits.

We ate one of the "Beefsteaks" for supper tonight; I saved a couple slices for a sandwich in my lunch tomorrow, and we're hoping another will be ripe enough for supper tomorrow night.The Beefsteak plant has really been coming on in just the last couple of weeks. We're having cool nights now, and I don't know if that will slow down the ripening or not. There are several more out there I'm hoping we'll enjoy in the next week or two.

I was looking at the old blog posts, because I wanted to remember this post about the beautiful body of Christ. I'm preaching at Hope International University chapel at the end of the month, and their chapel theme this year (this semester?) is "Connected." So I'm considering preparing a message about connections with other Christians, connections with the local church, and connections with the church at large. Joe Grana, who invited me, said he was hoping I'd bring something about our Restoration heritage, so I'm trying to decide how that can all work together. 

It Was a Wonderful Weekend

The smiles in these pictures are only a hint of the laughter that filled the weekend with Ken and Susan celebrating Susan's birthday. It began with a wonderful dinner at their favorite Italian restaurant in Huntington, WV. (Bankers from NY used to eat with the Ashland Oil executives there and say it compares with anything they find at home.) The manicotti and gnocchi and fettucini were wonderful!
Then Susan was squealing and giggling with delight when we turned into their driveway and the headlights caught Susan's sister, Jean Carol, plus Scott and Amber and Amber all sitting in a row waving at us. It was a surprise! Susan knew Jean Carol was coming, but not the kids. Big fun! We spent the rest of the evening laughing and talking and catching up.
All that continued the next morning as Susan put out a wonderful breakfast spread with a wonderful egg and sausage casserole plus pumpkin and zucchini bread, PLUS some saucer-sized glazed donuts that we had picked up at Keim's market on Route 32 on the way there. We were all thankful for the Amish Saturday morning!
We walked through sprinkles of rain to see Ken's latest project, an orchard bounded by a wooden and barbed wire fence worthy of a prison camp, but actually constructed to keep the deer out. We inspected poop piles inside the fence and wondered what creatures had breached the barrier looking for food and proving to us that they'd been there.
Soon we were helping put final touches on all the preparations for the 5:00 birthday party. The ladies prepared fruit and vegetable trays, and I took a mountain of wildflowers Ken had cut from the meadow and transformed them into four bouquets for the serving table and three of the tables where guests would eat on the deck.
We posed for pictures before Susan's family arrived from Irvine, and then more than a couple dozen of their friends came to enjoy the catered buffet, and a wonderful birthday cake with the best cream cheese icing you've ever tasted.

Susan is only 11 years old in dog years! (Sofi is their pet golden retriever.)

Then we adjourned to the family room to watch Susan open her gifts followed by a couple hours filled with the happy chatter and hearty laughter of folks who obviously knew each other well and have a great deal of affection for Ken and Susan.

We enjoyed more laughter with breakfast this morning before leaving for church at 9:30 and enjoying a wonderful time of singing with a good sermon based on the book of Isaiah. Evelyn, Amber, and Jean Carol posed for me after church before we headed home to enjoy wonderful leftovers from dinner the night before. 

We left about 2:30 and got home in plenty of time to unpack, relax a little and get ready for the week ahead. It was a wonderful weekend!

Happy birthday, Susan!

Evelyn made this pretty package for Susan's birthday party tomorrow.

Evelyn and I are off for Ashland, Kentucky, to visit with her brother and his wife, Susan, who is celebrating her 60th birthday. Well, I guess she's celebrating it. She should, because her husband and his sister and his sister's husband all passed this milestone some time ago. "Sixty sounds pretty young to me!" Evelyn said.
Happy birthday, Susan! Welcome to the club! Sixty is the new 50, you know, and you've got a lot of life left to live.
We're looking forward to a great time at their comfortable home. It's a party!

Change Is Good, Right?

Change is good, right?

That's the title of Paul Williams's column in the September issue of Christian Standard. But that wasn't what a reader was reacting against in an e-mail I found in my "in" box today. That dear gentleman was reacting to a headline on a spring issue of Christian Standard that was extolling the progress of churches that were making changes. After a long rehearsal of his conversion and decision to go to Bible college in the late 1940s and a litany of his ministry since then, he got to the point of his complaint. I quote:

We hear it said, in the more recent "Church Growth" decades, that "we must change our methods, but not our message."  I do not believe that!  I don't think it is possible to change our methods without changing our messge.  I believe the great commisison is the message and the method, which will work, or can successfully work, in any society anywhere in the world in every age until time ends.  I beleive it is a discredit to God to think that he gave a world-wide commission, without a world-wide method, for accomplishing it until the judgment day.  We do not need to create new methods, only carry out the divine method, which is not being taught or very well obeyed!  Am I beside myself?  Am I way off the track?  If so, I would like to have it explained.  As you can see, I don't think modern day thinking is on track.  I know this is lengthy, but I am "dead serious."

Frankly, I knew that some people think this way, but I had never heard it so articulately expressed before.  I was nice to him, but in the middle of thanking him for his note and congratulating him for his long ministry and having raised children who are serving the Lord faithfully, I did say this:

In short, you're saying that the methods used in the 1950's were straight from the Bible, without any influence of culture or geography or history on them, right? Would you include Sunday evening evangelistic services in that list? Or Sunday school? Or Children's Day? Or Vacation Bible School? Or revivals? Or hymn sings? Or gospel quartets? Or chalk talks? Or puppet ministry? Or printed curriculum for Bible study and teaching? Or the Christian Standard?
Each age has adapted methods and created new ones to reach a new generation, it seems to me. I stand with you in fear when I see ancient truths discarded in favor of new ideas. But I can't believe that my grandchildren won't be reaching folks with the timeless gospel in ways that never occurred to me. 

So how do you think I did? And what have you decided about what shouldn't change, and what must, as we do the Lord's work.

A Day of Contrasts

Was this an autumn day or a summer day? Was it a sunny day or a rainy day? The answer to each question is "Both."

Late this afternoon a storm blew through--alternately heavy and light rain under a black sky. I drove home through the shower, which seemed to snarl traffic. But by the time we had finished dinner, the rain had stopped. We decided on an impulse to go have dessert at The Cone. A wonderful end-of-summer treat (Evelyn had peanut butter; I had orange sherbet and vanilla swirled.) But the air had gotten cooler after the rain, and The Cone was getting ready for fall with its advertisements of pumpkin soft serve on the marquee.
Jen's Facebook account was mentioning the first day of school in Levittown, and we know fall is here. But I'm expecting at least a few more weeks of warm days, even if the air does feel cool in the evenings.
Evelyn went for her walk after we got back from The Cone, and I snapped a picture of the sun blazing through the front window, with rain drops sparkling on it.

Thinkin' October in September

First day back in the office after a four-day weekend. Three long phone calls in the morning, plus a couple of short ones. Spent the afternoon with correspondence, mainly assigning articles for the January issue. Meanwhile, Jim Nieman spent the day finalizing the October issue, which he will upload to the printer tomorrow.
We think it will be a good one, our annual reading resources issue. It should be in the mail next week.

That's the theme of the main feature: "Find This Book and Read It!"

The 68 pages of proof are spread out across two countertops.

One of my favorite articles in the issue. Dudley Rutherford answers, "Why I Write Books."

Our Second Full Day with the Johnsons

Grabbed this "Kodak Moment" in front of Independence Hall

Had a fine day with the Johnsons in Levittown and Philadelphia yesterday. Heard a good sermon Sunday morning, preached by Matt, and met a bunch of people at their church. After a quick lunch at the house, rode with Matt and Jen and the kids (in two cars, just like yesterday) to the historic district in Philadelphia. We got to tour Independence Hall and a couple of other spots and just soak up the history of the place.

Then we returned home to hang out and enjoy a wonderful dinner of chicken and corn on the cob cooked on the grill, along with tossed salads and crispy potato wedges. We laughed and talked and then adjourned to the local Dairy Delight where I enjoyed a new treat (is this unique to Philly?) a Gelati--frozen slush (but much finer than our Icees) in any one of about 12 flavors layered with your choice of soft serve flavors. I got peach Gelati with vanilla whippy dip.

Inside, where the Declaration of Independence was signed.

Then we returned home and the Johnsons taught Evelyn and me a new card game, "Butch" Rummy. Miles beat the socks off us. (I think that's happened anytime I've played Miles in a game of anything!

We said our good-byes last night about 11:00 and then were up and out by a little after 7:30 this morning. After a quick trip to Starbucks for coffee and snacks, we hit the road and stopped once in the morning for more coffee and gas, once for a late lunch at a favorite haunt from Jennifer's college days, Eat'nPark, and once more for gas in the evening. We were home by 7:00. It took us a little longer than going because of the leisurely lunch stop. But we were still glad to get home early so we could get unpacked and organized for tomorrow.

We plan to watch "Major Crimes" at 9:00 and eat popcorn before going to bed.

It was a good weekend!

A Day with the Johnsons

Evelyn and I drove 10 hours from Cinti to Levittown yesterday, in time to go see Matt and Jen at their home and join in a rousing celebration of Wii with Miles and Nina. Today we visited in the morning and had a wonderful lunch of chicken salad and egg salad and other lunch treats. And then we drove to Longwood Gardens where we enjoyed each other's company amid the stately gardens, beautiful landscaping, and amazing conservatory there. The day was capped with what Evelyn called the best fireworks show she's ever seen--rising up above the Gardens magnificent dancing fountains and choreographed to the music of Swan Lake. It was a great day!