A Fine Easter

We had a nice Easter dinner at about 5:00 with Bill and Verna, Donovan, Jocelyn, and Ruby and Nora Weber. They came about 3:30 and left around 7:00, and we had a fine time together. Evelyn had prepared way more food than we ate, so we called Dan and Cindi Cooper and invited them to come for supper tomorrow night to help us eat leftovers!

Evelyn and I went to church at 9:00 this morning--a packed house for one of six services at CCM. It was an excellently produced, very moving service with compelling use of video and a great sermon. 

We ate brunch at Panera's after that and then spent the rest of the afternoon finishing up preparations for company.

We were able to talk with Jennifer awhile after our company had left and all the dishes were done. Its been a good day.

 Evelyn saw the above idea on Shannon Penrod's Pinterest page:  Robin's egg "nests" made of Chinese noodles coated with melted butterscotch bits. We decorated the table with them; each person got one beside his dinner plate. Ruby and Nora opened Easter baskets from Grandma and Papa. Nora demonstrated her ability to make herself comfortable in a variety of positions on just about any piece of furniture. :-)

Keester's Coming!

On this day before Easter, I should write something inspirational in keeping with so many posts sprinkled across Facebook today.
Actually, it HAS been inspirational to see the Scripture quotes, graphic designs of Easter messages, and invitations to Easter services tomorrow across the land. It's a warm thought to realize so many of my Facebook friends are working to glorify the risen Christ tomorrow. And several started with Easter services this afternoon. "He is risen" will be repeated a million times tomorrow--it's wonderful!
But so is this picture, don't you agree? Laughter is good, and this one made me laugh out loud when I found it posted on a friend's Facebook page this evening.
Today has been one of those rare and delightful days when I haven't left the house (except to go out in the yard), didn't even start the car--a day all day at home.
Evelyn and I read the paper and ate breakfast this morning. I paid bills, wrote checks for all our monthly donations, and we Skyped with Wendy for about an hour. (They'll be saying "He is risen" in Tanzania tomorrow, too, but Wendy is a bit homesick for all the trappings of our American holiday.)
Evelyn and I worked in the yard this afternoon. She cut the grass. (Here we go: grass cutting number 1 for this season.) And I dug up three rose bushes that need to go and chopped around on three more. I filled both garbage cans with the thorn-laden branches and left one of the dug-up bushes by the side of the house to put out for the garbage Monday night. (I hope those guys wear gloves.)
We were both tired after our first real Saturday yard-work workout. I took a shower and thought about taking a rest, but instead I wrote a draft of the editorial for the issue we send to the printer Wednesday. Susan Aulen called, and we both got to talk with her. And then we ate wonderful leftovers from last night's dinner for dinner tonight.
I think we'll watch a movie on Netflix via our Roku box to relax before bedtime.

Happy Birthday, Wuske Men!

Our dinner table was pretty in pink this evening for a birthday celebration for Terry and Brandon Wuske, whose big day was actually Tuesday this week. "Terry doesn't want a party," Shirley had told us, even this year's birthday was a BIG one for him. So we decided we'd at least have a nice dinner, which we did.
Evelyn made barbecued beef brisket, cole slaw, and green beans. I had found a new recipe for macaroni and cheese, which Evelyn helped me cook this afternoon. (We wanted some hearty choices, since Brandon is eating vegetarian now.)
A chocolate birthday cake from Kroger's ("Happy Birthday Wuske Men") completed the meal. We had a nice time laughing and talking together.
Evelyn and I started the day quietly, drinking coffee and reading newspapers. I went to the store (it was quiet, too, on a Friday morning!), we took our walk, and I piddled around outside a little. I even had time to doze a little in the armchair this afternoon before a few last-minute duties to finish getting ready for dinner.
We had a beautiful sunny day, with temperatures topping out above 50 degrees, and tomorrow's supposed to be the same. Evelyn's decided we're cutting grass!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Easter

Once in awhile I go with a friend to the Honeybaked Ham store for lunch. They have great sandwiches and soup, and they're just five minutes from the office. But once or twice a year I go there to get a ham for a company dinner, and those two occasions are usually Christmas and Easter.
This year's no different. I stopped by on my way home from work today to get the meat for our Easter dinner. We're hosting Bill and Verna and Donovan and Jocelyn and Ruby and Nora Weber Sunday afternoon, and we're looking forward to the get-together.
I'm looking forward to a three-day weekend. I had a coupon for two free muffins from Mimi's, and I stopped there too, to snag a treat for our breakfast.
Today was a typical day-before-vacation day: a long list of tasks to accomplish. I achieved the most significant of them: read the proof for the May issue of Christian Standard, including checking a bunch of names among the 344 churches listed in that issue--it's our annual statistics issue. I had to write some late copy and change some copy for it as a part of the process. Also had an art-selection meeting with Scott Ryan and handled correspondence about Christian Standard-related activities at this summer's NACC.
I got there about 7:30 this morning and didn't leave till 5:30, and I was READY to depart by then!

Our Town Hall Meeting

Last week, Friday at 4:15, all of us at CFM received an e-mail requesting our attendance at a "Town

Peter Esposito

Hall Meeting" scheduled for today at 3:00. That, combined with a notice to clean our offices because "visitors" would be with us today and tomorrow, bred some concern about what would be announced at this required meeting.
As it turns out, it was nothing too dramatic. Peter Esposito explained that he is now Group President for New Mountain Learning, a combination of three textbook and education publishing enterprises in Minnesota with the two CFM Publishing companies located in Cincinnati, Standard Publishing and RCL/Benziger. The combination will create greater synergies of shared technologies as well as other benefits. Wicks, the private equity group that bought Standard Publishing in 2006, still owns us as well as the Minnesota concerns.
With Peter's expanded responsibility, he has named two Vice-presidents and General Managers, Jeff Seng for RCL/Benziger and Matt Lockhart for Standard Publishing. The new title will add marketing to Matt's current responsibilities for product development at Standard. I think he'll do a great job!

Eight Hands in Praise

This evening Evelyn and I grabbed supper at LaRosa's (I came straight from work) and then headed to church to attend the special musical program planned for the monthly Evergreen banquet. Four musicians from our church, Joyce Lawson, Cindi Cooper, Deborah Kerr-Brenner, and Brent Ludwick, prepared almost an hour of music performed on four pianos assembled on the stage in the chapel. The music was wonderful, including classics, two remarkable solos--Debussy played by Joyce and Chopin played by Brent--and a slapstick send-up of Chopsticks complete with ladies in boas, Brent in tails, and pianists hamming it up while rotating between the pianos.
All of us knew these four people were talented; tonight they proved they are remarkable talents. What a wonderful way to end the day!

A Day in Winter, I Mean Spring

 

All afternoon and evening yesterday we kept returning to the Internet for weather updates and reports of massive snowfalls in Kansas and Illinois. Before we went to bed, the newsmen here were saying, "This is very difficult to predict. I'm not sure we'll see as much snow as we at first thought." They had at first thought about 5 inches for Butler County. But we awoke this morning to steady snow, but only an inch or two of wet, heavy snow on the ground. I drove Evelyn's car to Barnes automotive (that "Check Engine Light" came back on again last week), and Robb Faust gave me a ride from there to work.

We enjoyed something different at lunchtime. A cooking demonstration and talk about nutrition from two representatives from the culinary school that offers classes in the building across the courtyard from ours. The homemade spaghetti sauce over spaghetti squash was wonderful. I've never cooked a spaghetti squash before, but I want to try it. And he mixed broccoli slaw into the tossed salad, dressed with a homemade vinaigrette.
Soon after lunch I joined a few from Standard at Christ's Church at Mason to help with a video we were shooting there. It 's a training video that will be posted at standardpub.com to help users know how to use (and decide to use) Standard Lesson Commentary and Standard LessonQuarterly. My friend Jared Alexander needed some folks to pose as members of an adult Sunday school class for some "B-roll" shots.

We had fun trying to look like real Sunday school class members while joking and chattering with each other. It sounds simple, but we were there almost two hours. Stephanie Woeste asked me to read the brief intro for the video before we left.

Robb and I went to pick up my car at Barnes's, and I ran some errands before coming home.

It snowed all day long, but thankfully the warm highways and the air temperatures just above freezing kept it from sticking on the roads. Nevertheless, the scenes outside our windows all day long were from Christmas cards and not Easter catalogs.

A Bountiful Evening

We had a delightful time yesterday afternoon and evening, meeting David and Carol Ray to see Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's production of The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote. It's a simple story, about an elderly woman who wants to return to her home in Bountiful, Texas, after being trapped in a small Houston apartment with her son and his wife for 20 years.
But "simple" does not mean "not substantive." The play explores family dynamics and the longing of those who are older to experience again the joys of a younger life. It's a compelling experience to see just six actors portray a story so real you can't help but be touched. It resonated with my ongoing coming-to-terms with the changing world around me, and I was very glad to see such an excellent performance. (This production provided an added dimension by casting the whole show with African-American actors, giving nuance beyond the playwright's original intent.)
Evelyn and I had seen the movie made from the play, starring Geraldine Page, more than 25 year ago, which is one reason I wanted to see the stage version. (The movie is available on Amazon for any reader who's interested.)
We met Dave and Carol at the Playhouse for the 4:00 performance and then after the play walked with them to Mount Adams to grab sandwiches and salad at one of their favorite haunts there. The weather was cool but pleasant, and we enjoyed being out with them.

But the weather today is taking a nasty turn. We had a brief but beautiful snow shower at lunchtime today. I tried snapping some pictures of the snow-laced trees on the way home from church. But now, as I finish this post at 10:00 this evening, the snow is pouring down outside, the sidewalk is covered, the trees are all flocked, and we're wondering what the morning commute will bring.

Planting Ideas

A highlight of my Friday was lunch with Rick Scruggs, Ben Simms, and John Nicholson at the barbecue restaurant beside the outlet mall halfway between Columbus and Cincinnati. Ben, with Lifeline Christian Mission, had invited me to a hockey game in Columbus between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Calgary Flames Friday night. It was an opportunity for reps from area churches to enjoy the game and learn about a new church-planting effort in Canada. I decided not to make it to the game, but I invited these fellows to lunch so I could learn more about their work. We had good barbecue and an enjoyable visit. I was so glad to get to know all of them better, and I told Rick I'd ask him to write an article about what they're doing for our church planting issue later this year.
At work, we were handling details before Jim Nieman left for a week of spring break vacation. He was driving with his wife and daughter to Texas overnight last night! After work, Evelyn and I went from the sublime to the ridiculous--or at least from the very nice to the everyday. I had a Groupon to Teller's in Hyde Park. After a fine dinner of Florentine pizza and salads (Evelyn had the chopped; I had the steak salad--so good!) we adjourned to Costco where we stocked up on grape juice, toilet paper, almonds, tomato basil soup, and various bottles of over-the-counter drugs. Then we came home and watch two "Duck Dynasty" episodes and a "Frasier" rerun before calling it a night.

Worship Vision Night

Last night was Worship Vision night at the church for all those who help in any way lead worship in what we have called our Blended or Contemporary services. It was a nice evening with wonderful cheesecake (provided by Mark Senseman--I had the Dutch apple--yum!).
After about 30 minutes of coffee and cheesecake, we enjoyed a wonderful set of worship songs, led by Micah Steele with nothing more than an acoustic guitar. (I'd like to see us do that for an all-church worship service. We could hear each other sing, and the guitar accompaniment was beautiful and varied, strong when it needed to be, but always gentle.)
Speaking of gentle, that's Benji Maurer; "gentle" is the best way to describe his demeanor and his approach. There's nothing of the "hot dog" about him, and I appreciate that. He led the rest of our evening together.
After sharing some thoughts from his experience and the Bible about worship, he walked us through upcoming changes that will take place with his use of worship teams starting April 7. Most of the information had already been shared in an email he sent inviting us to this meeting. But it was good of him to make sure we all heard it from him at one time, and his offer to speak with any of us individually was sincere and welcome.
He distributed sheets of paper each person could use to indicate whether he or she wants to keep serving or take a break from serving.
I said, "I'm in," but I doubt I can do all the things I have at least sometimes done in the past, especially with the new configuration of the worship services. So I'm going to write a note to Benji, Dave Lautzenheiser, and Brad Wilson and ask them to decide which jobs they want me to keep doing.
We finished by 9:00, and I had nice visits with a couple of folks before heading home.

Praising Cain

Some time ago I wrote a blog post about a going-away party at Standard as we saw another good employee leave us. But today we had a party for another reason. One of our fine editors, Karen Cain, has worked with Standard for 20 years, and today we celebrated her anniversary and thanked her for her work. 

Karen likes chocolate and everything Mexican, and so we blessed her with candy (in lots of 20) and salsa. Carla Johns brought in bagels and cream cheese from Panera, and in addition to congratulating Karen, we stopped by her desk regularly to snack throughout the morning.

It's Winter, but Spring Is Coming!

"Well, Cincinnati is beautiful in the spring and the autumn, but we have so many gray days in the winter." I made the remark during a visit with an old friend, Jack Reese, who teaches at Abilene Christian University and was in town doing some research for his sabbatical project. He had called and we ate breakfast together at First Watch in Kenwood. It was blowing and cold as I arrived at the restaurant at 7:30 and left at 9:00. Still windy and chilly when I arrived home this evening after my haircut after work. But at least the sun was shining. So I decided to snap this picture of the daffodils poking through the mulch under a pear tree in my backyard. I was on the phone today with a friend in Johnson City, Tennessee, who said the daffodils are blooming in her yard. Not so in mine, which is fine with me, since it's supposed to get down to 26 degrees tonight with a high tomorrow well below 40. As I remarked to Peggy, my haircutter, this evening, "Well, I'm getting a lot of good out of my sweaters!" Yep, I've set out a wool sweater and corduroys to wear tomorrow!

White Chicken Chili, the Recipe

Evelyn and I ate the last of last week's white chicken chili for dinner, and that reminded me that several readers want the recipe. So, now, as a first for my online diary, here it is. Notice that it originally appeared in Taste of Home. And also see our few little changes, noted at the end.

Recipe

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cans (15-1/2 ounces EACH) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) chicken broth
2 cans (4 ounces EACH) chopped green chilies
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream

In a large saucepan, saute chicken, onion and garlic power in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies, and seasonings.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat; simmer uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream and cream.
Serve immediately.

Yield: 7 servings

Note: Here's how we alter the recipe. We usually use only one of the cans of the chopped chilies. But you might like it full spicy.
Evelyn lately has cooked the chicken breasts whole ahead of time and then shredded the meat before adding it to the broth, etc. The shredded chicken is nice.

A Time for Healing

I was blessed to be able to help lead in two worship services this morning, the 9:30 service in the auditorium and the 11:00 Classic service in the chapel. Trevor preached about Jesus, the healer, to rapt attention in both services. His points offered many take-aways for me:
1. Everyone needs healing.
(I already knew that I do, but it's nice to hear.)
2. Jesus is the ultimate healer.
"He came to heal the human condition."
"Physical healing was not why he came, though."
"Too often our idea of healing is, "Heal my spouse and leave me alone."
3. Jesus heals the whole person.
"Sometimes the physical is not the most important part."
"Remember what Paul said, 'To live is Christ, but to die is gain.'"
4. The church is God's healing hand on the world.
"The healing hand we offer is so much more than physical" (James 5:14-16).

• Admit you're sick.
• Go to the doctor.
• Do what the doctor says.

And then, jumping off the teaching in James about the sick calling the elders for prayers and healing, we invited people forward at the end of all four services Sunday for prayer. A line-up of elders and former elders was stationed across the front of the auditorium at all the services, with small vials of oil for anointing those who wished it. 

I was prepared for it to be a moving time, but not prepared to be more moved at the Classic service than at the 9:30. Before Trevor could finish talking and we could start the hymn at the end of the service, one little white-haired lady came forward and knelt at the platform for prayer. And then the sight of so many walking slowly, some on canes, at least one accompanied by someone helping her walk the aisle, touched me in a way I didn't expect. 

"I can hear my Savior calling . . .

"He'll go with me through the judgment . . .

"He will give me grace and glory . . .

    "I'll go with him, with him all the way."

We sang the song, repeating the refrain several times and allowing the instruments to play without singing at least twice as people continued to come forward. Some were young people who attend this service. One young man, maybe 30 or more, came forward in an emotional decision to be baptized. It was wonderful.

Between the services a Christian friend and I were talking. She has been in the church all her life, and she's a faithful servant at Christ's Church. She had a sober, thoughtful expression on her face. "We're in a time of transition here," she said. And then with a small shrug, "But if this is making my kids want to come, I'm all for it." 

As I drove home I had tears of joy for the renewal I'm experiencing in my own spirit as I attend worship these days . . . and tears of grief for an experience of church I'm losing and may not have again; tears of submission to what  God may be doing among us . . . and tears of nostalgia for my youth gone and a vision on the horizon of  a new generation, vital and vibrant and leading in new ways.

Keep 'em Coming!

We received the advance sample copies of our April issue today. Folks will be receiving them in the mail next week. Meanwhile, yesterday Jim Nieman and I met with former employee Scott Ryan who's going to help us with some art choices and design work for our May issue. Scott left us last year to go work as a designer with Frontgate over in West Chester. We met him at Barnes and Noble yesterday and we brainstormed some art choices together, surveying the stock photos on my laptop via B&N's wi-fi.

Links I Liked

Maybe you'll call this cheating, but my blog post is going to consist of links I found interesting when they were posted on Facebook today.

With the worldwide attention on the election of the new Pope, I was greatful for this link from a new friend, Sean Palmer, I met last fall:

Posted at The Guardian: 13 Key Facts about the New Pontiff


From several sources, the personal testimony of Phil Robertson, star of "Duck Dynasty" on A&E and my new personal hero. I may be the last person in North America to discover this show, but if you're after me, you have to watch it. You'll laugh.You won't be afraid to have your kids watch it with you. And, after watching this testimony, you'll want to support this program.

And then there's daughter Jennifer's blog post. As usual passionate, opinionated, thought-provoking, and worthy of comment. I'll leave the comments to you!

Ministry = Recruiting

I remember when I was working part-time on the church staff that I learned something about ministry I wasn't sure everyone else on the staff had decided: Ministry is all about recruiting folks to do things. Whatever your ministry role, you're not doing it by yourself. This is because you by yourself can't do everything that needs to be done, and because we are called to equip others to do the work of the ministry too. So the minister is always holding out his hand and inviting others to join him in God's work; he will show them how to do it. (And sometimes, they show him!)
I remembered that thinking as I was trying to decide what to write about here today. It occurred to me that I spent much of the day recruiting. Not only am I still working on filling slots in the two projects I mentioned yesterday, but I also spent a fair amount of the day today recruiting writers and a designer for future issues in Christian Standard. It would be satisfying to me to have a job that could be accomplished solely on the strength of my own endeavors, I suppose. But for now, like most involved in ministry, I'm busy recruiting others to serve with me. And that's satisfying too.

Cleaned part of one bathroom and worked with Evelyn to finish transforming the living and dining room from winter to spring. Finished studying Revelation 7 for my Bible study Thursday morning.
Evelyn made one of our favorites for supper: white chicken chili. I like our recipe better than any "tortilla soup" or white chili I've found in any restaurant. And after enjoying tonight's batch, we still have leftovers!

The Duty's in the Details

Today was a day for correspondence. A letter to a reader who had sent me a photocopy of an old article in Christian Standard by W.F. Lown that told the story of the merger of Midwest Christian College and Ozark Bible College decades ago. (This in response to my column encouraging more such mergers today.) An e-mail to a reader /friend who wanted to talk with me and Paul Williams about a piece Paul had written decrying the preponderance of one DiSC profile among successful church planters.
And then e-mails recruiting people to help with projects I'm involved with.
One task is to find a few folks in Indianapolis who would participate in a committee to help make local arrangements for a meeting of the Stone-Campbell Dialogue in that city this October. The committee will be made up of church staff people from independent Christian churches, a cappella churches of Christ, and Disciples of Christ congregations. My job is to recruit the 4C's members. (Two have already said yes. One or two more, and I'll be there!) Next I needed to write e-mails to folks asking them to lead table discussions at the Networking Breakfasts co-sponsored by Milligan College and Standard Publishing at next summer's North American Christian Convention.
All this sounds simple when I describe it in just a couple of sentences. But finding the correct e-mail addresses, carefully writing the e-mail invitations and then copying and personalizing them for each new recipient--all this takes time. And it's a little mundane; I get bored and distracted easily, remembering other e-mails I'll need to write, checking a website for information I remember I want, and being distracted by something totally non-work-related that I find on one of those websites.
For an editor, I have a remarkably low interest in pursuing details. I've learned to tend to details in many ways, but I never relish it; and we've made some significant mistakes because I only glanced at something that should have been carefully examined.

I really didn't find anything to photograph today, but my day reminds me of a picture I snapped last week. This is the checklist that managing editor Jim Nieman pulls out just before we give each month's issue to the printer. I've seen it on the table with the proof more than once, but I'd never really read it before. As I thought about the painstaking care he gives each issue before we release it, I'm glad I work with someone with an instinct for details that exceeds my own.

A Good Day

Trevor DeVage started a new sermon series today, all about Jesus. Today's focus was on Jesus, our Friend, and I had the chance to serve as host at the 9:30 service in the auditorium. I decided to quote J. Wilbur Chapman's words, the text to a familiar hymn, for the Communion meditation.

Jesus! what a Friend for sinners! Jesus! lover of my soul;Friends may fail me, foes assail me,He, my Savior, makes me whole.
Jesus! what a Strength in weakness! Let me hide myself in Him; [I'm] Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,He, my Strength, my vict'ry wins.
Hallelujah! what a Savior! Hallelujah! what a Friend!Saving, helping, keeping, loving,He is with me to the end.

It was a blessing to participate in the worship service this morning.

Benji Maurer worked with one of the worship teams early in the morning.

Evelyn and I had a nice breakfast at Mimi's Cafe and then took our walk as soon as we got home. Another 50-plus degree, springlike day (just like yesterday), made a good afternoon to walk in the park. When we got back, we chopped down the dead ornamental grass outside. And then, after a shower, I did some writing (got a draft of my column that goes live Tuesday), and then went to the grocery store.
Enjoyed a little time to read the paper and watch the news before dinner, "60 Minutes," and "The Bible," the miniseries on the History Channel

 

 

 

 

A Wonderful Evening, All for a Good Price

We had decided not to subscribe to a concert series with the Cincinnati Pops this year. There just weren't five concerts I wanted to attend. But then we got this offer to purchase tickets to two concerts and get the third one free, and there were two I really did want to attend, the annual Holiday concert and the closing concert featuring Mandy Patinkin. So I thought, OK, I'll take a third concert free. I chose the concert for last night, March 8, featuring the Chieftains. 

I'm afraid I'd never heard of the Chieftains, and I didn't really know what to expect. I was delightfully surprised and pleased. They are a group of marvelous musicians--and dancers!--from Ireland. And in anticipation of St. Patrick's Day, the whole program featured the haunting melodies of Irish tunes.

Flutes, harp, keyboard, guitar, violins combined with vocals and several rounds of that unique brand of Irish dancing plus a bagpipe choir and a men's chorus for an evening that was truly enjoyable. 

We saw or bumped into several friends there, which added to the enjoyment, as did our wonderful dinner at the Washington Platform, located not far from Music Hall at the corner of Court and Elm. 

We discovered Washington Platform a year or two ago when we had a Groupon for the place, and we loved the eclectic mix of seafood and other delights as well as the unique atmosphere. So when their name came up again amid the Groupon offerings a few weeks ago, I jumped at the chance. We parked across the street from the restaurant--on the street, for free--and decided to walk down to Music Hall for the concert. It was brisk, but not cold. We were glad to get into the warm concert hall, and afterwards, glad to get in our warm car. But the fresh air and walk were good for us. We had a free concert, a discounted dinner, and free parking in an evening that was nice in every way.

Revealed

I really enjoyed leading the discussion at our men's Bible study this morning. We're working through Revelation--I chose it because I felt particularly uncomfortable with the book. And I must admit I haven't felt completely comfortable trying to lead some of our discussions so far. But for some reason, I was more satisfied with the way today's session went.
For one thing, I devised some discussion questions and activities quite apart from anything suggested in the several resources I'm using. For another, I used the white board as a part of that discussion, and I think it's an excellent tool for stimulating response and helping a group summarize what it has decided and learned. I had planned more for us to discuss than we had time to get to, which may be another positive indicator. They say the best teaching is from the overflow, and I found myself remembering points and questions without being tied to my notes or to the guidebook we're following together. And the guys themselves bring meaningful insights to the discussion and helps from their study Bibles that left us all (I hope!) feeling more comfortable with the chapter (Revelation 6) after our session than before.
It was a heavy topic, evil and God's response to it at the end of time. In many ways I feel insulated from the evil that characterizes existence for so many people in the world. But it's good for all of us to consider how the Evil One is present and active, even in our own upper middle class, suburban worlds.

Snow White

We awoke this morning to find a thick insulation of heavy, wet snow over everything. Before I left for work after 9:00, Evelyn measured 7 inches on the front lawn.

I decided to shovel the driveway and clean off Jennifer's car since she had to drive to Louisville today, and since her car was almost hidden by the snow. Evelyn helped. The snow was heavy and wet. 

We were making slow progress when our neighbor, Bob Leshnak, came down, driving his ATV with a plow attached. We had seen him clearing his driveway, and now he was finished. He offered to finish plowing ours; we still had at least a third of it to do, plus clearing Jennifer's car, and we were really grateful.

The snow outside was beautiful. Every tree was covered with snow, as if it was painted with fluffy, white icing. Every grove, every yard, at every turn there was a scene that looked like a landscape from a painting or a Christmas card. 

I drove to work about 9:15 and enjoyed the beautiful scenery (my picture certainly doesn't do it justice) all the way there.

Back to the Blog

This week is more evidence of a syndrome I've observed before. When there's not much to write about, there's usually time to write. When the day is full of stuff to report, it may be too full for diary-writing time. Jen has been here the last few days, and I've been too busy talking and eating and TV-viewing with her to write about it.
Actually, I've decided to be a little less driven about this whole diary-keeping thing. That is, I'm not going to feel guilty if I don't post some day. So I won't feel guilty about not posting yesterday, and I'll get on with a short entry for today.
Jennifer said before she came to visit that she was craving one of her guilty pleasures, a trip to Frisch's. So she and Evelyn met me there for lunch yesterday before they visited Mildred Holmes at Mason Christian Village. She also said she was missing good Indian food, so our outing today was to go to Raja India on Tylersville for dinner and enjoy the delicacies they offer there.

Jennifer decided while she was here she'd teach Evelyn how to use Pinterest, so that was the activity for this evening. We've had lots of laughs over the whole experience thinking of names for boards we could create, for example, and comparing Evelyn's beginning boards with the little bit I've pinned. ("Who would guess you'd both have pins from mamalovesfood.com?"
I spent most of the day at work today slogging through some challenging editing, in between e-mail correspondence and getting answers I didn't like at a brief meeting I had this afternoon.
They're predicting several inches of snow overnight, and before 9:00, the pouring rain we had at suppertime turned into heavy snowfall. The sidewalks and lawn were covered in no time.
I e-mailed myself some editing I can do early in the morning if I decide to go in a little late. The snow is supposed to turn into flurries by about 9:00 in the morning.

One Fine Day

This morning Trevor Devage told the story of Jesus  and the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11).
Sin leads to
SHAME,
STONES, and ultimately, a
SAVIOR,
he said.
One of the memorable points: "I think Jesus got down at eye level with that woman weeping in the dirt. I think he looked her straight in the eye and said, 'I've got this one.'"
His challenge: "We're going to be a church that gets in the dirt, eye level with sinners."
He asked us to pray for one, invite one, and move for one and announced that we would move from four services in two hours to five services in three hours, starting the week after Easter.  Our church is growing, our services are full, obviously there are many, many around us who don't know Jesus, and we must do what we can to reach them. It was a moving, challenging service, and we're full of anticipation about what the future months will bring.
Dave and Carol Ray visited this morning  and we invited them the grab brunch with us at Bob Evans after the first service. Lots of laughter, but serious life sharing too.
Jennifer is in town this weekend. She came this way a few days early before she heads to Louisville for an NACC 2014 executive committee meeting. So it was a great time with the five of us at lunch.

This afternoon I paid bills, took a long nap, went to the grocery store, and came home to make vegetable soup for supper. It was so yummy. Jen asked if I could pick up some pimiento cheese at the grocery store; she was used to finding a dozen different varieties of it in Nashville, but it's an unknown quantity in Philadelphia.
Oh, it is so good on three-cheese bread and crackers with that hearty minestrone-style vegetable soup.  And we have leftovers!
Settling in and watching the first episode of the History Channel's miniseries, "The Bible," to end a good day.