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.

Friday with Friends

Yesterday I said good-bye to one friend and spent good time together with a couple of others.
I sold our Camry to Jim Nieman who bought it for his son, Craig, to drive to college. The car has served us well for 169,964 miles, and I think it will make the perfect auto for Craig's needs the next 2 or 3 years.

 Evelyn and I will drive her Corolla to Louisville for the NACC, and then we hope to go to Ashland and buy a car from a dealer there recommended to us by Evelyn's brother, Ken. Hopefully, we'll be making a new fuel-injected friend in about a week!

Last night we met Milt and Maribeth Pippenger for dinner at the Golden Lamb in Lebanon. They've been camping there this weekend on their way to the NACC in Louisville. We spent the day with them on the Fourth, and they're visiting with Dale and Judy McCann today. We plan to meet 'em at church tomorrow and all share lunch together.
After dinner (a very fine dinner), we followed them to the campsite and sat in their roomy fifth-wheel motor home and visited till 10 o'clock. We decided Thursday that it's been about a year and half since I had seen them and even longer since the four of us had been together.
We first met Milt and Maribeth in 1976--39 years ago!--when we stayed in their home while interviewing for the Christian education minister position at First Christian Church in Longmont. We became close to them there in a Bible study/prayer group that was a great support as each of us comtemplated major career moves--Milt to a teaching position at San Jose Bible College and I to the editorship of The Lookout at Standard Publishing. It's a great treasure to have lifetime friends like these.

Checkin', Tweakin', Meetin'

Jim Nieman and Scott Ryan checked out a QR code in the proof to see if it was readable.

Next week we give the June issue of ChristianStandard to the printer, and today we invited Scott Ryan, our art and design consultant, to come look at the proof of the whole issue to suggest any tweaks or changes he'd suggest to make it look better. He had already given us good advice, and he (and we) are pretty pleased with the way it's turning out. 

I spent much of the morning finishing reading the proof. (I had spent about an equal amount of time with it yesterday, suggesting some repaginations and a couple of other changes to the layout that Jim completed yesterday afternoon and this morning before Scott arrived.) Late copy--some cover copy, the "coming next month" copy, and a couple little changes here and there--all that was part of the day yesterday afternoon and this morning. This afternoon I worked on the editorial for the issue, getting all the way to a draft I'll read in the morning to see if it makes sense.
Shawn McMullen and I attended a meeting with Stephanie Woeste and Jared Alexander this afternoon to talk about the possibility of a monthly presentation to readers and potential readers via a service on the web called BlogTalkRadio. We'll see if we'll be hosting guests on the Internet sometime soon!

Little Blessings for a Good Day

I diligently packed my lunch last night and then ran off without it this morning. But it was a good day to run out for lunch: sunny and warm. When I walked to my car, I noticed a food truck parked at a sidewalk path nearby. Bones' Burgers. I decided to investigate and discovered the guy was selling more than hamburgers. He offered a salmon burger and a choose-your-own-fillings gourmet grilled cheese option. I chose the special of the day: smoked bacon, munster cheese, and thin-sliced Granny Smith apples--all on fresh made, thick-sliced rosemary bread. Very tasty! I decided to try the sweet potato fries to go with it. I ate 'em all, but it was a big helping. Not only were they seasoned with sea salt but also with pepper or some other spice. They had a kick to 'em. But I ate 'em! It was wonderful standing in the sun waiting for the sandwich, and I ran back down after I ate to snap a picture of the food truck.

Soon afterwards, Scott Ryan came over to help us with design and art in our June issue. He was very pleased with the cover that had been designed by Plain Joe Studios (we are too!), and he gave us some tips for several ways we can make the issue work. He noticed my new camera on the desk and wanted to see it and learn all about it. I showed him the 180-degree flip-up LCD screen that lets you take your own picture, and we decided to give it a try.

This evening Evelyn and I mowed grass: she did half before supper and I finished afterwards. That's the 2nd mowing of the season so far. My car thermometer said 82 degrees on the way home. The grass is green and beautiful in response.

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.

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.

Screen Time

I have spent the WHOLE DAY sitting in front of this computer, and I'm TIRED of it. Evelyn's working at the Healing Center tonight, and I decided just to jot off a blog entry before going home, and then I may not open the computer again before bedtime!
We're at the art-choosing stage in our monthly production schedule. Because we don't have a full-time art director, our process goes like this: Jim Nieman, managing editor, and I meet with the company's art director, Mark Haas, who helps us choose art, come up with graphic ideas, etc. He also takes stock art and doctors it in Photoshop, etc., to create customized looks that we couldn't get by depending on the stock services alone.
But I spend quite a bit of time creating light tables full of possible stock images to start with. And that's what I did a little bit yesterday afternoon and what I've done almost all day today. I did have a 50-minute conference call with planners of the next Stone-Campbell Dialogue meeting that will happen in Indianapolis in October. And Mark and Jim and I met for about 75 minutes this morning in the first round of art planning meetings  for our April issue.
Tomorrow morning we'll meet again, and in between some correspondence, I've been looking at art possibilities in preparation for tomorrow's meeting. Hopefully we can get the rest of the art chosen in another hour or so then.
So far, we have some neat concepts going. Here's a tiny, little preview. (This isn't the best concept by ANY means, but I don't want to give away too much!)
The issue is about conflict. One article is titled: "Ways to Know Your Church is Headed for Burnout."
We're going to try to illustrate it with a church attached to a lit fuse, as though it's getting close to blowing up. Mark will combine the fuse from this bomb with this church building picture to make the illustration. We'll see how it works!

A Birthday at Betta's

What's more fun than a new restaurant? Jim Nieman introduced most of us to Betta's Italian Oven close to Xavier University for his birthday lunch today. It's very fine!
The sign in the window proclaims, "The best pizza in Cincinnati," an award bestowed at least once by Cincinnati Magazine. I don't know if I would have labeled it the best, but the margherita pizza I had for lunch was really good. The pizzas are cooked in a wood-fired oven. They have one size and style: 10-inches, thin and crispy crust.
When the waitress brought it to the table, I thought, Well, I'll be taking half of this home. But I managed to eat the whole thing! It's in a part of town I never get to, but sometime I'll make a point of going there just to try something else on their menu!

Sheryl Overstreet, Jim Nieman, Mark Taylor, Shawn McMullen, and Mike Helm
enjoying Betta's for Jim's birthday!

Spent most of the day working on the March issue, which goes to the printer next week: Read proof and talked on the phone to get quotes from Christian college presidents for the editorial I hope to write for that issue. Spent most of my time after supper this evening studying for our men's group's first study in Revelation Thursday morning. I'm so glad I have Matt Proctor's articles, Part One and Part Two, on Revelation as a help to get us started!

Happy Birthday, Jim!

Today was managing editor Jim Nieman's 50th birthday. We knew it was his birthday, but we didn't realize it was the Big One (or, from my vantage point, one of the Big Ones) till yesterday when he casually mentioned he would be 50.
We decided this needed more than the passing birthday wish, and we moved into high gear to make the day special. Sheryl Overstreet brought all kinds of "50" decorations, we resurrected "Happy Birthday" banners from storage, and we brought goodies to put out a spread so the whole office could join the celebration. Sheryl gave him 50 Tootsie Roll Pops (one of his favorites), Diane gave him 5 sleeves of 10 Oreo cookies, and I gave him a bag of 50 mixed chocolate snacks (Reese's cups, Butterfingers, and Hershey miniatures). (I'm investigating acne medicine and weight-loss entrees as possible Christmas gifts.)
He was gone all morning (took his daughter to the doctor) and arrived right at noon, just in time for us to put out the snacks as add-ons to lunches.
Jim is easygoing, low-key, steady, and dependable, but he was full of smiles this afternoon. I think we helped make his birthday happy, and that made us happy too!
Our usual tradition is to go out to celebrate a staff member's birthday, and I pick up the tab for that person as well as myself. Jim's day will be Monday, so the celebration will continue.

Checking in, Checking up

You could call this my check-up week. Saw my family doctor yesterday for my annual check-up. My blood pressure was lower than it has been recorded in months100+ over 60+. Very good. Talked with the doctor about a couple of minor concerns that we'll keep watching, but no dramatic action indicated at this time. So that's good.
Went to the dentist today for my 6-months check-up. I had a crown on one tooth several months ago, and it's still a little tender once in awhile when I chew something hard. But I couldn't make it hurt today, no matter what he gave me to bite down on. So we agreed that sometimes the healing is slow, and we'll keep watching it. The nurse gently urged me to be better about flossing. I think I can, I think I can.
Ran some errands at Target on the way home and stopped by Michael's to get one more red bow to put on the wreath on the front door. They were out of 'em, but I found another item, and got several of them--can't tell what I found; they'll be a surprise for some people who may read this blog! :-)
Wrote a draft of this week's editorial (goes live Thursday); I'll read it again before giving to Jim to post. Handled a bunch of correspondence about outstanding assignments, our college student subscription plan, and the June Cruise to Turkey, Italy, and Greece we're helping to host this summer. The ad appearing in the December Christian Standard has generated some interest--I think we'll add several to our group as a result of it. That's good!

None of this was particularly picture worthy, so I snapped a shot of our "gumdrop tree" lighting up the night on our deck. That's a heavy stone holding it down, in case of wind. We're going to find something to wrap around the base to make it look a little more attractive.

Find the Mark

Took two carloads of my coworkers to lunch today--all of them colleagues in our magazines work at Standard Publishing. Forgot to ask the waitress to take our picture, but I got the folks to pose for a picture outside the restaurant, Ferrari's Little Italy in Madeira. Then one of them, our Creative Services Director, Mark Haas, told me to jump into the frame and he snapped a second picture. He offered to Photoshop me into the first picture, but it's easier just to post both pix here. :-)

The lunch was a fun and tasty interruption to a productive planning day Paul and I enjoyed. Tomorrow I'm going to try to follow up on all of the ideas and assignments I've jotted down as a result.

Getting Ready for Travel, Getting Ready for Christmas

Today was a somewhat typical last day in the office before a trip away. I mentioned yesterday that I'm reading a book in preparation for attending a spiritual life retreat sponsored by the Stone-Campbell Dialogue. Well, I leave home about 8:30 tomorrow morning to catch a plane for Chicago connecting to Dallas, where the retreat will be held.
Today I spent checking items off my list, all of them items that really needed to be handled before I'm back in the office next week.
Had a productive couple of meetings settling on prices and procedures for a program I'll introduce to the Christian college presidents meeting before the ICOM next week. We're going to offer student subscriptions to Christian Standard, and I'm going to see how they like the idea, suggested by Matt Proctor, when I meet with them.
Did some planning with Diane Jones-Dunham and some last-minute consultation with Jim Nieman on the January issue of Christian Standard, whose layout he'll be designing starting tomorrow.
Meanwhile, our printed copies of the December issue arrived. We're thinking about the holiday as we send contributors' samples of our bright red, "Merry Christmas" cover.

Men in Red

Christian Standard's managing editor, Jim Nieman (right) spread all 68 color proof pages of the November issue on the counter for the second time in two weeks today. We began our final checks before the issue goes to the printer tomorrow. Mark Haas, Standard's creative director (left), has served as our art director for more than a year, and he's been a huge help in upgrading the look and design of the magazine. He was there with us today, making recommendations for color and suggesting other tweaks to the layout. We realized when we gathered around the counter that we'd all chosen red shirts today, and everyone walking noticed it too! 

The November issue is all about missions, and we'll be distributing it on the chairs at the International Conference on Missions in Indianapolis next month. But we won't be wearing red shirts!

The Standards of the Future

This is the week we give four issues of Christian Standard to the printer: June 3, 10, 17, and 24. Our managing editor, Jim Nieman, spreads the color page proofs out on a countertop for one last check before uploading them. There was room there for three of the four issues today. The fourth issue was getting corrections and layout changes on the computer. He'll print the final proof for that issue tomorrow.

We have some good things coming in June:

June 3: advice for fitness from Dale Holzbauer (he has quite a testimony).

June 10: encouragement from Wayne Smith in his classic message, "Playing Hurt."

June 17 and 24: two issues helping us confront the question of immigration. Two essays offering different points of view on what the Bible says plus testimonies from Christian leaders involved with immigrants and portraits of undocumented immigrants and their experience in the United States. We hope the issues will stimulate healthy conversations among concerned Christians in many places.

Actually there's more than all that in these four issues, and I'm looking forward to reading the comments from our readers.

One Day in the Life of an Extrovert

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

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

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

Good People, Important Work, a Beautiful Day

Sheryl and Diane were game to pose for me this morning.
Two great ladiesI get to work with every day!

We started the day at work with a very small celebration. I brought in a box of Dunkin' Donut donut holes to celebrate the return of Diane Jones to the office after her honeymoon. Now she's Diane Jones-Dunham.  Sheryl Overstreet had been out some last week, tending to her husband, Ed, who had a pacemaker installed Thursday. So today everyone in the Lookout and Christian Standard staff was back at one time. Seemed to me like a good enough reason to eat donuts, don't you agree?

Tomorrow is our second deadline on a new production schedule for The Lookout and Christian Standard. We're giving four issues at one time to the printer, who will print and mail them all at one time. We had been mailing issues two at a time. Printing and mailing four at a time really saves on postage, and postage is every periodical publisher's big concern these days.

Our managing editor, Jim Nieman, already turned in one of this week's four issues last week. Yesterday he uploaded the second of the four, our April 8 issue in which we invite several church leaders to weigh-in on the attractional vs. missional discussion. I'm looking forward to seeing how readers respond.

Today he uploaded the April 15 issue, which examines the idea of elder governance, an adaptation of the Policy Governance model that some corporations and volunteer boards have adopted. It, too, should prompt some helpful discussions.

For the record, today ended in the high 70s, a glorious, sunny, summerlike day. As I left the parking lot today, I saw some guy, evidently from another office in the building, kneeling by a bed of daffodils to take a picture. I smiled and felt like less of a nerd for doing the same thing several days in the last week.