After a Long Weekend

Vacation: a break from work, at the end of which you're ready to get back to the job.
That's the way it's supposed to be, right, but as I crawled out of bed and drove to the office this morning, after a long weekend away, I wasn't quite ready to pick back up the routine.
But it wasn't long before I was feeling productive and satisfied again as I looked at the proof for the November issue (it looks good), handled correspondence, and made a decision about how to promote our app at the International Conference on Missions this November.
The highlight of the day, in many ways, was our birthday celebration with Lookout editor Kelly Carr. According to our tradition, she chose the place for lunch, and all of us enjoyed her choice, Mimi's.

We're having beautiful weather. Evelyn cut the back and side yards this afternoon, and I mowed the front, trimmed, and watered plants after work before supper.
I'm ready (I think!) to tackle a long list of tasks that need to be accomplished this week. After a good day of getting back into the routine, I need to be more productive tomorrow than I was today.

Feeding a Visitor

This little guy visited our deck, climbed up on the railing, and had some supper from our pot of parsley. I didn't know squirrels ATE parsley! Such taste!
We're having the first real heat wave of the summer, and it's late in the summer for it, seems to me. We're at the stage of the year when the annuals are looking leggy or heading toward death and I'm tired of watering and feeding and killing bugs. The heat doesn't make it any more pleasant or the health of the plants any more likely.
But we ARE getting a good crop of tomatoes this year; we've been eating them every night and usually at lunch too. And the last big holiday before Thanksgiving is coming this weekend. Those are all good things.
The progress I'm making at work is a good thing too. Spent quite a bit of time today working on
marketing or sales initiatives for Christian Standard or the Christian Standard app. That and correspondence and a long phone call with Roy Lawson (who has been one my most faithful counselors throughout much of my career) filled the day. I started a more complicated than usual editing project last thing Monday and left it spread out on my desk to finish first thing this morning. Didn't get to it all day.
Took a first look at the whole proof of our October issue, which goes to the printer next week. With the holiday Monday, I have quite a bit to accomplish the next three days.

This Week at a Glance

This is becoming my weekly instead of my daily diary, but I'm determined not to just let it go. A few things to record from this week:

Made some progress at work: planning/editing the November issue, consulting with Jim Nieman about layout and design options for the October issue. Spent quite a bit of time emailing and on the phone to nail down plans for the Stone-Campbell Dialogue meeting that will happen this year in Abilene in October. (Evelyn and I are planning a nice dinner out the weekend before her birthday, because I'll be in Texas on her birthday.) Did some work toward further marketing of the Christian Standard app and its digital editions. As of today, close to 1,300 people have downloaded the app and close to 100 have actually paid to read the magazine via the app. That's gratifying; the numbers grow every day. But the progress seems slow to me.

Thursday Paul Williams was in the office for our last official meeting together. His contract as consultant with Christian Standard ends in August. It was a productive meeting, a nostalgic meeting, a meeting with blessings (Paul has always shed light on my path), ultimately a difficult meeting. I will truly miss all the insight and ideas he's shared to help make Christian Standard what it has become.

Friday I had a great lunch with Dave Lautzenheiser; talked over my plan for the worship service August 31. He asked me to lead in the Classic service, because he plans to be out of town that weekend.

The weather has been hot and dry, at least it was till the end of the week when we had a couple of rip-roarin' thunderstorms overnight a couple of nights. I had thought maybe I'd come home from work Friday to cut grass, but Evelyn decided (and I agreed) it was just too hot! So on an impulse we called Terry and Shirley Wuske and invited them to share dinner with us at LaRosa's (our treat)—just for the fun of it and to celebrate the new half-time development position Terry began with Grundy Mountain Mission last week. He'll do a fine job, and he can do it from Cincinnati! So they won't have to move, and we won't have to tell them good-bye. We adjourned to our place after spaghetti and hoagies to finish off a peach pie Evelyn had baked earlier in the week (with peaches we had bought in Amish country). We really enjoyed the spontaneous evening together.

Saturday night Paul and Sev Friskney came for dinner. We hadn't visited with them all summer, and it was good to laugh and catch up. We had typical picnic fare: hamburgers on the grill, baked beans, cole slaw, and Evelyn's potato salad. She made a Rice Chex ice cream dessert that we used to serve every summer but hadn't had for years. It was a fine evening.

Brian preached in the gym, and those of us in the auditorium
enjoyed his sermon via the video feed.

We enjoyed being at church this morning. This was our regular Welcome Center Sunday, so we were there about 8:30. I had some contacts to make regarding that worship service next Sunday, and we enjoyed all the chatting and laughing we always enjoy with the extended time to see folks. Trevor had asked Brian Jobe to be guest preacher, and he had a fine sermon. I'm thinking I'll use his points as the jumping off point for my men's group Bible Study Thursday.

 After church Evelyn and I each had separate meetings to attend. Mark Senseman led a training meeting for people who have been serving at the Welcome Center; he announced and explained some exciting innovations and renovations coming to that whole ministry. Evelyn attended Mark's meeting while I attended training led by Dale Reeves for "tribe" leaders in anticipation of a new series kicking off September 7. Dale has done an excellent job getting all that ready. Evelyn attended training for women's Bible study leaders last Sunday at lunchtime, and she's at a women's kick-off event this evening (Sunday) for that whole emphasis. It's really great to see strategic plans, training, and fresh ideas from those leading the ministries we're involved in!

Our Minivacation

Evelyn and I are taking a little long-weekend trip, starting this afternoon. I'm writing from Mentor, Ohio. Tomorrow we're gong to visit the James A. Garfield home, a National Historic Site. Garfield, before he was president, was one of the Christian leaders who worked together to start Christian Standard, and when he died, the Standard's first editor, Isaac Errett, preached his funeral. (Found this article about Garfield published in Christian Standard.) I've always thought I'd like to visit his home sometime, and when I purchased a Groupon for a stay at a bed and breakfast in Millersburg (Amish country), I decided to combine the two destinations into one trip.
We'll visit the Garfield home tomorrow and maybe visit the Holden Arboretum, try to see some sand beside Lake Erie, and do whatever else we can find to do around here. I'm looking forward to a Saturday in a place I've never visited before.
We left home about 2:30 and stopped at a Mansfield exit for supper at Der Dutchman, a place we used to stop on the way to or from Grove City, PA, when Jennifer was in college there.

Earlier this week (Tuesday) we got to spend the evening with Wendy Wagoner who came the spend overnight with us. She will be the missionary in residence at CCU first semester (starting August 18), and she was in town working out some details with them. It was great to visit with her and sense that she's doing well.
Wednesday night we had Dan and Cindi Cooper at our house for our weekly dinner and Major Crimes evening. We really enjoy the series, a spin-off from The Closer, and the weekly fellowship with the Coopers is something we always look forward to.

Wednesday at work we sent the September issue of Christian Standard to the printer, and Jim Nieman has been working since then to get the digital version ready to upload to the new Christian Standard app.

Our tomatoes are starting to come on. Evelyn gave a bunch a of the grape tomatoes to the neighbor before we left, and a few of the regular tomatoes will be ready when we get home.

Weekend Update

It's been a fine summer weekend--good food, good friends, (pretty) good weather, and some unique experiences.
Friday night wasn't unique. Evelyn and I mowed grass; she did more than half before I got here after 5:45. I finished the yard and then edged and blew grass off the sidewalks. After a quick shower (it's hot these days, and so humid), we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Raja India, for supper, before stopping at the grocery to pick up a couple of things on our way back home. We relaxed with Cold Justice and the evening news before heading to bed.
Saturday I was up early. The morning was pleasant, although humid, and I sat on the deck and read this week's chapter from The Story with my first cup of coffee. The rest of the morning was breakfast, our walk through the Park (I walk two miles; Evelyn walks three), Saturday Wall Street Journal, and a couple of hours of this-and-that in the yard. It's satisfying to have the time to tend to little details: chopping some branches off bushes and trees, watering and feeding the plants in pots, killing weeds, checking the gutters, doing a little grass trimming.
After lunch we went to Dave and Mary Lautzenheiser's for Dave's 60th birthday party. Mary had prepared a wonderful spread of food, and we really enjoyed visiting with friends from church as well as Dave and Mary. It rained some on our way to their house, but it cleared up in plenty of time for us to tour the beautiful flower beds he's planted all around his house. Dave, the master gardener, is an inspiration.
I came home and did some work for Christian Standard for a little while and then went to the grocery store. Evelyn and I had eaten so much at Lautzenheisers that we didn't really need supper. So Evelyn popped a huge bowl of popcorn that we enjoyed while we watched an old movie that I had picked up at Redbox while I was at the grocery store. The Sum of All Fears, starring Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman, had a plot with a few lapses in logic, but it was well-acted and engaging. I'm glad we saw it.
Sunday we were up early and on our walk before we got ready for church. (Believe it or not, we weren't the only ones out walking at 6:45 in the morning!)

Today was the first Sunday in the New Testament portion of The Story, and the church had planned "Christmas in June" to mark our study of the birth of Jesus. It was a creative service, full of blessings, especially the excellent sermon by Brad Wilson. The biggest takeaway for me: Think of all the incidents of obedience that made the Christmas story happen: Mary and Joseph, of course, in a succession of good decisions; but also the shepherds and the Magi.
We met Terry and Shirley Wuske at first service and adjourned to the Frisch's in Liberty Township where we left the Wuskes' car and embarked on Ponderama, an annual tour of homes that have installed inspiring water features created by one firm here in greater Cincinnati. We went to three homes, and the first two were truly magnificent.
The home on Crest Road in Colerain Township sits adjacent to two home lots the homeowners purchased and turned into a park of flower beds and water features plus a gazebo. I've really never seen anything quite like it in a private home.
The pictures below were taken in only one section of their landscaped back and side yards, and they only begin to convey what this place was like.

Evelyn really liked these bushes with the
feathery leaves (at the 2nd home we
visited), but the homeowner didn't know
their name.

Then we drove back to Liberty Township and visited two homes off of Kyles Station Road. The first is down a long, private lane in a secluded setting that is truly remarkable.
We decided the best way to end our "tour" was with a stop at The Cone. We sat and visited before taking the Wuskes back to their car before 2:00.
I did some emailing and other work for Christian Standard when we got home. We ran out for supper to El Rancho Grande (love those Val-Pak coupons) and stopped into Krogers to return the Redbox movie and pick up a couple items still needed after yesterday's grocery run.

Busy Times, Fun Times, Inspiring Times

Here it is Tuesday, and I'm just now finding time to write a brief rundown of the weekend. This has been a busy week since then.
Jim and Diane and I have been busy with several new and out-of-the-ordinary tasks associated with the creation and introduction of the new Christian Standard app that we hope will be live on the Apple Newsstand in another week or two. It's very exciting, and once we get it established (learn how to use the interface and establish the print/digital integration), the month-by-month work on it will not be nearly as consuming as this journey up the learning curve.
But I really think it will create a digital version of the magazine that many will find attractive. We plan to push it at the NACC; I'm hoping for a slew of downloads during NACC.
Last night I met with Dales Reeves and a bunch of other members of the Christ's Church at Mason writers group he's formed. The church is planning an all-church study of Thom Rainer's book I Am a Church Member, and members of our group are writing devotions for all six weeks of the study. Dale runs a good meeting, we have a fun group, and I enjoyed the time with them.
Now about the weekend:
Friday night Evelyn and I mowed grass, and I did several lawn tasks. Then we ate pizza and salads from LaRosa's on the deck, enjoying a beautiful, sunny but cool evening.
Saturday I read the chapter in The Story for Sunday morning, paid bills, enjoyed breakfast, got the car washed, and went to the grocery. About 1:30 Bill and Verna Weber arrived from Indy, and before 2:00 we drove to Bill and Joni Baker's house for a pleasant meeting and picnic-style meal they had prepared.
The occasion was to hear a progress report, consider next steps, and pray for Victoria and Joshua Baah-Binney, Ghanaians studying here in preparation for ministry when they return home to Africa. We learned a lot, laughed a lot, ate a lot (!), and praised the Lord a lot for the Baah-Binney's commitment and his provision for all their needs. There will surely be more needs to come, though, and we will probably be involved in some way to help meet them.

 We left Bakers after 5:30 and drove to Riverbend to enjoy a concert by Cincinnati Pops. We sat on the
lawn (we'd brought our sling chairs) and visited in the hot sunshine till the program began at 8:00. (We were there when the gates opened at 6:30.)  After the sun set, I was actually chilly. But it was a fine program of orchestral spectaculars, finished off by the 1812 Overture and cannons, and then a wonderful fireworks display before we went home.
Webers spent the night, and we lingered over breakfast the next morning (Evelyn's raisin bread, granola, and fresh fruit). All of us left before 10:00; they for LifeSpring and we for CCM. We enjoyed visiting with friends in the lobby and snuck into the 10:30 service for inspiring singing and a wonderful sermon from Trevor, centering on the return of the Jews to Jerusalem and their failure to finish rebuilding the temple as God had commanded (Haggai and Ezra were the main texts).
Trevor painted the word "SURRENDER" in bold letters on a white flag on the floor as he began his sermon, but we didn't see what he'd written till he drove home his final point at the end: "The secret to a life with meaning is surrender. . . . The day I found freedom is the day I raised the white flag."
We grabbed lunch at Noodles and Company and then came home to tend to desk-type tasks, in between talking with Katie and Byron and later Geoff about our upcoming visit all together to New York. We're looking forward to a wonderful time together.

Hail, Rain, and Work (Nice Visits Too)

"Just because I don't sleep in on a Saturday doesn't mean I won't take a nap before the day is done."
I posted that to Facebook early, too early, this morning. Evelyn was up by 6:45 to get ready to leave by 8:30 for CCU's graduation, but I awoke a few minutes before that and decided not to go back to bed .
I balanced the checkbook and paid bills. Wendy was up after awhile, and we ate breakfast together while Evelyn got ready to leave.
(Did I mention that Wendy Wagoner was with us this weekend? She came Thursday evening in time for supper and left tonight after a quick Skyline dinner together as she drove out of town. She visited with Cincinnati friends Friday and today during the day, but we still had lots of time to catch up with her. Last night we grabbed dinner at a restaurant in Blue Ash called Through the Garden. [I had a Groupon.] And then back home we watched Saving Mr. Banks via cable On Demand. She hadn't seen it, and we enjoyed seeing it a second time.)
I updated Twitter posts via Buffer and nosed around on Facebook awhile. Then I got to the business of

writing my column that will appear Tuesday. I often do that kind of work on Sunday afternoons. But it was cold and rainy this morning, and it is SUPPOSED to be dry and a little warmer tomorrow. So I decided to save tomorrow afternoon for outside work and get my inside work done this morning.

It was a wise decision. Wendy left after 11:00 to go have lunch with some friends, and while I was working, I heard hail pelting the windows! I decided to snap some pictures for the blog, and I'm glad I did, because it didn't hail anywhere where Wendy or Evelyn were.

I found some lunch to microwave and made a salad of greens that I picked from the flower box 

on the deck. My first homegrown lettuce of the season! I did a few straightening/pitching/sorting errands around the house until Evelyn got home after 1:00 so I could visit with her then.
It finally did clear up, so I went outside and made some progress in the yard: trimmed lilac bushes and a  rose bush, and dug weeds in the big bed with the pine trees in the back of the yard.
All that took as much energy and time as I had (I trimmed two bundles and a garbage can full of branches from three bushes), so I came in to visit with "the girls" awhile. Wendy wanted to leave soon, and I hadn't been to the store yet to buy anything for supper. So we decided just to eat supper with her, as I said, as she drove out of town.
Evelyn made a grocery list while I took a quick shower before we left for supper. Then the two of us grabbed the items on her list at Kroger's on the way home.
It was still early, so I gathered pots and hanging baskets and began the process of distributing them around the yard and arranging them on the deck. Maybe tomorrow I'll fill a few of them. I have some of what I'll use from that Garden Gallop I joined Thursday.
I think we'll watch another movie soon, to end the day.
I never did get that nap.

Two Days of Disconnect

This is a picture of the inbox for my email account as it appears via the Outlook Web App on my laptop. I took my personal laptop to work today with a plan to find a Wi-Fi connection for accessing email, because we had no email or Internet connectivity in the office yesterday, and as it turns out, all day today.
So much of our work is via email; we go through a huge volume of email correspondence in a week. I had made a bunch of assignments last week, and the people were responding to them this week. And I had more assignments to make and questions to ask.
I went to Panera for awhile this morning. Good coffee. Interesting interchange at the table nearby as I listened to some sort of manager or supervisor interview two applicants for either manager or assistant manager positions. (You can only overhear so much from a distance!)
I was impressed by the way she listened to the applicants, the questions she asked, and little snippets about how Panera does its business. (They grow all their own tomatoes. The chicken arrives in the store presliced. They keep complete records of their business--sales volume, by dollar and by item--so they can predict from one day to the next and one holiday to the next what kind of inventory to stock.)
The first guy seemed to be a winner. The second guy, not so much, for a variety of reasons. Probably the killer was that he'd been fired from managing another restaurant because one of its health/cleanliness standards hadn't been met. After that second interview, she stood up to leave, looked over at me, and smiled.
"You're not going to hire him, are you?" I said.
"Was it that obvious?" she said, laughing. "I could tell after the first five minutes he wasn't for us, and it's so hard to give a reasonable interview to someone you know you're not going to hire." I think she did a good job.
Believe it or not, I did get emails written during that time, as well as some information pulled off onto my stick so I could print a Word document back at the office to give some contract info, etc., to Diane Jones.
They told me there was Wi-Fi access in the small snack room in the main lobby of our building. So I trudged down there about 1:30 and stayed till after 4:30--with 3 or 4 other Customer Service gals on laptops, also accessing the Wi-Fi. We were accompanied by ABC's daytime programming on the big screen on the wall over us. And the little room was HOT. I really think I was more productive at Panera.
I'm a little surprised at myself at the flood of relief that washed over me later when I was back at my desk and my email account popped up open (this was about 5:15). I tried the Internet, and there was Evelyn's latest post on Facebook.
Connected again. Connected again! Thank God, we're connected again!
"Thanks for your patience and understanding," said the note telling everyone that the problem was solved. I'm not sure there was that much of either in my heart today.

Another Good-Bye

Pictures of the Day:
Taken yesterday at the combination birthday/going-away party for Sandy Wimmer, retiring from Standard Publishing after a couple of decades-plus of service with us.

She worked faithfully, creatively, and in a very organized way for all those years. It's hard to imagine how many products, how many pages she has touched, how many children and teachers have been drawn into teaching plans and student books by art she touched.
Another excellent worker has left us, and everyone wishes her well.



Quote of the Day:
What if listening through the ears of love is the greatest interpreter for what it means to be “Christians only” in a world where there is no doubt we are “not the only Christians”?
—Casey Tygrett in "The Spirituality of Shutting Up" at christianstandard.com.

Fat Tuesday

Quote of the Day:
The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true.
—James Branch Cabell, novelist, in The Silver Stallion. Quoted by  Simon J.  Dahlman in the upcoming May issue of Christian Standard in his monthly feature, "Seen and Heard."

Pictures of the Day:
I snapped pictures of some proof pages from the April issue of Christian Standard, which we send to
the printer tomorrow. These are some of the best articles in the issue. I'm looking forward to seeing reactions to it. (I'm even more looking forward to seeing reactions to several pieces in the March issue, which is just now in readers' hands.)
Meanwhile, we had our second meeting with our design consultant Scott Ryan to choose art and layout directions for the May issue (thus the quote above). Scott designed the cover on the April issue, pictured here. The photo is by Tom Patrick, taken at the North American Christian Convention in Louisville last summer.
May's issue will be themed, "I Love the Church!" with a lead article by Bob Russell and his picture on the cover.
I decided this year to try going vegetarian during Lent (except maybe when someone has us for dinner--I'm not going to inflict my choice on them; or maybe when we have someone here for dinner--not everyone LIKES bean burritos!). I had to stop on the way to work this morning to pick up a frozen entree for lunch, and since tomorrow is the beginning of my "fast," my little nod to Mardi Gras was to get an entree with turkey in it! Yeah, I know, Fat Tuesday means much more to many others.

What else? The snow!

Picture of the Day:
No, I didn't take this one. I found it at the WCPO-TV website. I chose it because it shows the shimmering layer of frozen rain on top of the snow that threatened to bury this fire hydrant. We didn't have that much snow overnight, but there was definitely a layer of frozen snow and ice atop the 4-6 inches we found on our driveway this morning.
Evelyn (bless her!) helped me shovel. With the ice, the snow was heavy enough and difficult enough to shovel that we concentrated on clearing only a path wide enough for the cars to travel. We didn't worry about getting edge to edge. We were done by 7:30, and I came in to take my shower.
I called work to discover we were on a "delay" (see the quote below), so I answered some e-mails and wrote my part of Christian Standard's weekly e-newsletter before braving the roads to head into work.
The worst part of the trip was the parking lot at work! They were still plowing it, and many of the parking spots were not cleared, because cars had started the rows of spaces before the plows got there. I had to park quite away from the building in a remaining spot that wasn't snow covered.
Management took pity on us and ordered LaRosa's pizzas for the whole office for lunch. That was nice!

Quote of the Day: "CFM corporate offices will be on a two-hour delay. The office will be open at 9 a.m."
—Message on the company's "weather closing" voice mail this morning. 
For those of us who usually get there at 8:00 or 8:15, it was a little difficult to interpret exactly what that announcement was saying.

Alive Periodically

Quote of the Day:
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
—Howard Thurman, quoted by Facebook friend Christie Clayton on her status feed today.


Picture of the Day:
I guess it stands to reason that a magazine editor would read magazines. Well, I read lots of them, and before Christmas I succumbed to Christianity Today's offer to begin a yearlong subscription to that magazine and Leadership Journal for $10 each. I've been carrying around my first issues, hoping to find time to read them and wanting to see what lessons I could learn from them to apply to our work with Christian Standard.
Of course, these two standouts, plus Outreach Magazine and World Magazine, outclass Christian Standard on many fronts for many reasons, not the least of which is their staffs and their budgets, much larger than our operation supports.
In addition to these magazines, I regularly see Time, Sun, Better Homes and Gardens, and The Wall Street Journal, plus leafing through Evelyn's Real Simple and a quarterly gardening magazine.
But not everything one reads should be new or a periodical, and there are some books calling my name in 2014.

Actually, the cover of the latest issue of Christian Standard doesn't stack up too badly against
these Christian "competitors," do you think?

Visiting Kennedy Space Center and Quoting Peggy Noonan

Pictures of the Day: We're extending our stay in Orlando after finishing the Christian Standard contributing editors retreat yesterday. Today our destination was Kennedy Space Center, and I must say we were impressed. My pictures can't begin to do it justice, but these few will give a little idea of the impressive real rockets and other devices on display (none of these is a reproduction or simulation). They can't convey the excellent way they are presented and the inspiring stories the Center tells about American space exploration (which, by the way, is still continuing today).

Above is the Saturn V rocket, which is taller than two Statues of Liberty.

The Apollo 14 Command Module, the "Kitty Hawk" (above).
The Atlantis space shuttle (below pictures) is perhaps the most awe-inspiring. Evelyn tried to get a picture that would contain the whole thing. That was almost impossible.

Quote of the Day:

Chris Christie's problem isn't that he's a bully, it's that he's selfish. Barack Obama isn't stupid and therefore the maker of mayhem, he's selfish.

There isn't a staffer on the Hill who won't tell you that 90% of members are driven by their own needs, wants, and interests, not America's. The former defense secretary, Bob Gates, has written a whole book about it, and the passages in which he speaks most plainly read like a cry from the heart. . . .

Someday history will write of our era, and to history the biggest scandal will be the thing we all accepted in our leaders, chronic and endemic selfishness. History will be hard on us for that.

—Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal, January 18-19, 2014

Great Group, Great Meeting, Great Quotes

Quotes of the Day:

Actually, these are quotes from the last three days. Wednesday afternoon through this morning, I've enjoyed the annual retreat with the Christian Standard contributing editors. This group of 12 Christian leaders from around the country helps Paul Williams and me choose topics, find authors, and set the direction of Christian Standard. But the group has become so close that our time together feels more like a spiritual retreat than a planning meeting. 

Following are quotes from our discussions, gleaned from my notes.

"If you go thru a lifetime easily, all you have to offer people is pablum."  Roy Lawson

"Part of the ugliness of being a pastor is the numbers game." Glen Elliott

"When God is doing a new thing, one of the greatest obstacles to doing his will is my current ministry." Randy Gariss 

"Never has there been a time when how you say what you say is as important as what you say. The end of apologetics is not a neatly worded statement of fact but, does it lead a person to Christ?" Ben Cachiaras

"Can we talk about things with honesty without killing the debate by name calling and judging?" Jim Tune

"You cannot win the culture wars, and I do not believe Christ calls us to win the culture wars.

Our citizenship is not in this world."  Jim Tune

"Poverty: It’s not just about money.

We approach the topic patronizingly." Becky Ahlberg

Picture of the Day:

I persuaded our committee members to line up for a quick snapshot a we began our time together this morning.

Back row: Paul Williams, Doug Priest, Glen Elliott, Arron Chambers, Randy Gariss. Front row: Ben Cachiaras, Jennifer Johnson, Roy Lawson, Matt Proctor, Jeff Faull, Jim Tune. Seated: Phyllis Fox, Becky Ahlberg.

What Should Christian Standard Publish? (and, what should teenagers watch on TV?)

Picture of the Day: I spent much of the day putting together a brief report I'll make at Christian Standard's annual contributing editors retreat later this week. Below is a jpeg of the first slide in the PowerPoint I'm creating.

Every year the contributing editors discuss what Christian Standard ought to be discussing and who ought to be writing for us.
An open invitation to readers of my blog and visitors to my Facebook page: What do you think Christian Standard should include in its content line-up for the next 12 months? Leave your comment here or at my Facebook page. I promise to share it!

Quote of the Day: The biggest take-away from this study is that what teenagers are watching can make a really big difference in what they think, and ultimately how they behave and really important life decisions. 

—Melissa Kearney, an associate professor of economics at the University of Maryland and co-author of a study that attributes part of the decrease in the U.S. teen birthrate to the MTV show 16 and Pregnant—in an interview with NPR today.

Years ago I worked with a group of Christian leaders who visited the big three networks' headquarters in New York to plead with them to lessen the amount of sex and violence on TV. To a person, each network executive insisted there is no relationship between what people watch and how people behave. So I almost wrecked the car when I heard this university professor on the radio sharing the above conclusion as a result of her careful research. Many readers will want to read or listen to the whole interview.

Consumerism, Snow, and Marriage

Highlight of the Day: Interviewing Ryan Connor, Jay Link, and Janet McMahon for this month's Beyond the Standard program. The title of the program centered around consumerism, the subject of the February Christian Standard, in which each of these three wrote. But we quickly moved to something beyond and before overspending and over acquiring to the basic issue of why we live and how we glorify God with all of life—including all our possessions and our money but certainly not stopping there.
I want to listen to the whole program again (you can hear it too, here)—I'm thinking there's probably at least one editorial in their comments, and besides that, I need to consider again all the challenges and perspectives of these three fine people.


Surprise of the Day: Snow! Did they say we would have more snow? I don't think so. Evelyn and I grabbed supper at Abuelo's, and when we walked back to the cars (we met there) about 6:30, snow flakes were floating down from the sky like a scene from a Hallmark movie. I stepped outside after 8:30 to find the driveway covered and a pretty sifting of snow on the bushes. It had stopped snowing by then, though; the temperature was above freezing; and I don't think we're going to have any real problems with the white stuff.

Quote of the Day: "With marriage, our generation thinks that we should all be incredibly happy all the time. The moment we are not incredibly happy, something's wrong with the marriage. Well, nothing's wrong with the marriage! You've signed up to live with someone for a half a century, and as long as you still have stuff in common and are still close it's fine. But you see people getting divorced and you think "What do you think is waiting out there?" I kind of like that [the generation that grew up in the interwar period] would have laughed at this idea."

—Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey, in the Wall Street Journal, January 3, 2014

Choose Your Critics Wisely

Quote of the Day:
A sure fire way to spiral into darkness is to listen to your critics or to obsess on pleasing people you barely know. Most of us have people in our lives who really know us and love us despite our flaws. Let them have more sway over your emotions than those who don't really know you at all. It really can be a choice. Decide who is worthy of affecting your emotions... and who isn't.
—Joe Boyd, in "7 Ways to Get Happy This Year" at Huffington Post

Laugh of the Day: Thanks to Vicki Cherry for giving me an outloud chuckle via her Facebook post:

 

 Second Quote of the Day:

It's not often that our home thermostat is set 70 degrees higher than the outside temperature! I drove by a Duke Energy building this morning and I swear I heard cash registers dinging inside.

—Chad Showalter, posting on Facebook

Pictures of the Day:

First, a proof of the cover for the March Christian Standard. Our art consultant and design helper, Scott

Ryan, came by today to look over the whole issue one last time before we upload it to the printer tomorrow. The issue should be in the mail next week. Scott created the cover for this issue.

Second, a snapshot of the yummy casserole Evelyn made for supper: scalloped potatoes with ham. I do believe that Christmas ham was worth it just to have the leftovers to make this wonderful dish. And we have enough casserole left to enjoy another time this week!

Seriously Studying a Prophet for the First Time

"So, are you going to be writing an editorial based on Ezekiel?"
Our vice president of product development, Matt Lockhart, was joking with me when I announced I had finished an assignment to complete some extra work for the company.
"No, I'm not anticipating that, but studying Ezekiel really was a blessing. I don't think I've ever studied the whole book of Ezekiel before!"
This spring Standard Publishing will release a teacher's study Bible, filled with commentary that first appeared through the decades in the company's popular and widely used Standard Lesson Commentary. Like so many projects in life--and in publishing--completing the commentary for the Bible has taken more time than planned. Before Christmas the editorial team recruited several employees, former employees, and freelancers each to take a section of the Bible to finish as soon as possible. With something close to an apology, Matt asked me to take on the book of Ezekiel.
I learned a lot, reading the book and reading the Ezekiel commentary that has been published by  Commentary writers through the years. It was something close to a devotional exercise, because periodically through the book, we authors were to insert a section called "What Do You Think?" with discussion questions for the teacher or group leader to use. Seeing the application of Ezekiel's prophecies and visions to the dilemmas and challenges of believers today was a blessing.
As I worked, I thought of the faithful editors who have so carefully prepared the Commentary chapters for decades, and I could see why some preachers buy each new annual edition as a reference for lesson and sermon preparation. My study made me almost--almost--interested in teaching the book of Ezekiel myself.
I'm guessing that might be a hard sell to my Thursday-morning men's group, though.

Sunday, Workday, Funday

We attended the 9:00 service this morning. Drew Sherman, minister at Compass Christian Church in Colleyville, Texas, was our guest speaker. He ministers where Trevor DeVage was associate for 11 years, and I know Trevor was delighted to be with him this weekend. We were pleased too, because he brought us a WONDERFUL sermon on the life of David, challenging us to allow ourselves to be used by God as David was.
We had breakfast at Marie's Scrambler. The food is fine, but in spite of the fact that the place is always packed, I just can't convince myself that it's a place I really like. It had been a long time since we'd been there, so I decided to give it another try, but my feelings about the place haven't changed.

The proof page for our November cover. Scott Ryan designed it, and
we think it will attract attention.

Mostly what I did this afternoon is read the proof for the November issue of Christian Standard, which goes to the printer Wednesday. For some reason, I've gotten a little behind this month; it's been awhile since I've read proof on a Sunday afternoon.
The November issue will center mainly on missions; we'll distribute it at ICOM in November. There's some really good stuff in it! :-)
I was at it from about 1:00 till about 5:00, with a nice break to talk with Geoff on the phone somewhere there in the middle. Jennifer called not long after I was finished, and we had a nice visit with her too. They're each involved in meaningful and important things. Geoff is editing his doctoral dissertation proposal down to the right word length before emailing it tonight. He and Lisa have found a new, larger apartment they'll move to on October 16. Matt and Jen are making final preparations for a 10-day trip to India to speak at a huge youth conference sponsored by Central India Christian Mission. They leave October 7.

Evelyn and I ate butternut squash soup from Costco for supper and watched the season premier of "60 Minutes." If we can stay awake, we'll watch PBS's "Foyle's War" at 9:00 before bedtime

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Four Issues

It dawned on me this evening that I've been working on three issues of Christian Standard all at the same time, with a fourth one in process.
I'm reading (i.e., editing) the December issue. The theme is incarnation, and we have three really good theological articles, one each from Matt Proctor, Miriam Perkins, and Jon Weatherly. They're so good, I wish I could share 'em now! The cover for this issue is coming from Plain Joe Studios, and we expect to see it soon. We'll meet with Scott Ryan a week from tomorrow to agree on illustrations/graphics for the rest of the issue.  It goes to the printer the first week in November.
Meanwhile, I've been assigning material for the February issue. The theme is "How to Teach the Bible in a Biblically Illiterate Age." The deadline is November 1, and I still have a couple of pieces to assign and a couple of assigned pieces to verify. It goes to the printer the first week in January.
At the same time, Jim Nieman is completing the layout for the November issue. I'll read proof on it next week, write the editorial for that issue, and we'll show it to Scott Ryan for suggestions/tweaks on the layout. It goes to the printer the first week in October, just about the time the January issue's pieces are due. That's the fourth issue, although we're not really doing much with it this week.
It all sounds a bit confusing, I guess, and I must admit when Jim asks me a question about one issue just as I've answered an email about another, it's easy for me to get them mixed up.

Evelyn asked, "Do you really think anyone cares that we had
Peanut Butter 'n Chip ice cream  tonight?"
"No," I answered.