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.

A Welcome Party!

"This is good news, and you need good news."
So said a former Standard Publishing employee when I told him Kelly Carr was coming full time as editor of The Lookout.
I couldn't agree more. That it is good news, I mean. Kelly has been working as interim editor since last fall and doing a fine job. I wanted us to hire her as full-time editor from the get-go, but we needed to iron out her working arrangements in a way that both she and the company could feel good about.
Kelly will do an excellent job with The Lookout, and I couldn't be happier that she's with us.
We had a little "Welcome Kelly" party this morning, with plenty of bagels and a plant for Kelly's office. It's nice to have a party because someone good is coming (instead of leaving).

Kelly Carr (center) was welcomed by Lynn Pratt and Margie Redford at her party this morning.

Another Good-bye

We've been having hot, hazy weather this week, and the rising sun has been beautiful every morning on the way to work. I stopped in the church parking lot to try to capture it today. It was prettier than this, but this will help me remember it.

Today we had another going-away party. Joann VanMeter decided to retire (I think she had toyed with the idea for some time), and we had a surprise farewell lunch for her today at noon. Matt Lockhart expressed the company's appreciation for her 14 years (I think that's the right number) of service, most recently (and most valuably) as our rights and permissions manager. Her skill and knowledge of the whole rights scene has grown with her years of experience. That, plus her knowledge and concern for our customers and contributors and her warm personality and ready laugh all combine to make us very sorry she's leaving.
But she's not the only one to go. A week ago Friday I treated the Magazines staff to lunch so that Shawn McMullen could tell them that he's been recommended by the elders of Lifespring Christian Church to become their senior minister. He'll preach trial sermons at Lifespring's various campuses this month, and if the elders' call is confirmed September 29, he'll begin at Lifespring November 1.

This follows a summer in which we lost Jared Alexander, Robb Faust, Zach Davis, Valaira Hoskins, and a couple of others I didn't know as well and whose names I've forgotten.
Someone came by my desk after lunch today, "You're not planning on leaving, are you?"
"Not planning on it," I said.

On the Lookout

You know how it is the day before vacation? You get a week's worth of work done because you concentrate, you focus, and you MUST finish it all.
Well, I feel like I've been in that mode for the last week or more. Between yard work and some church work and work work and preparations for our tour/cruise, I've been going, going, going. I've taken and stored some pictures I've been wanting to post. I think some of that will have to wait. Friday we leave for a two-week tour/cruise, "Paul's Fourth Missionary Journey," i.e., a Mediterranean cruise. :-)
There's be no Internet (well, you CAN pay $50 for 90 minutes of access, but I've decided not to do that.) So, maybe I'll squeeze out a minute to post tomorrow. (Tomorrow night's assignment: mow lawn and PACK.) But maybe I won't. If not, I'm afraid this diary is going on a 2-week hiatus. But I WILL be taking pictures along the way.

So here's what I can offer today. One of the tasks on my list was to gather some pictures for a little slide show CCU is preparing for a program at the NACC. I decided to take some pictures from the issue of The Lookout in 1976 that introduced me as editor. I was 26 years old! At that tender age I had the misfortune of getting the job of my dreams. And although it hasn't been all dreams since then, I've never left Standard in all these almost 37 years since then.
Anyway, here's how I looked as a very young, inexperienced guy. I could wish the price of knowing what I know now were not looking like I look now

Just 10 Hours

What can you do in 10 hours?
If I ever had 10 hours straight to work in the yard, I could mow the grass, do the edging, trim the bushes, clean the gutters, get rid of weeds, sweep the walks, and enjoy several breaks for big glasses of cold water.
At work I could proofread one whole 68-page issue of the Christian Standard in its new monthly format, proofread one weekly issue of The Lookout, enjoy a lunch out of the office with a colleague, handle some correspondence, and waste some time checking Facebook.
In 10 hours I could pull out and test the Christmas lights, go to the store to replace the strands not working, string 'em around the bushes in my front yard, come back inside to unpack and assemble our prelit living room tree, hang the ornaments, and take a few breaks to find my favorite Christmas CD's to enjoy while I'm decorating.

Obviously, I didn't drive every minute.
I couldn't resist playing with the camera
on my computer while Evelyn was driving.

In 10 hours I could drive to the airport, check bags, go through security, and fly to Europe with time to spare.

And in 10 hours, or maybe a little more, I can drive from 7056 Darcie Drive in Liberty Township, Ohio to the Brick Hotel in Newtown, Pennsylvania, having stopped three times: once for gas, once for a late lunch at Eat 'n Park, and once more to visit the restroom and snag a tall decaf mocha at a Service Plaza on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

We had a good trip yesterday. Left exactly at 9:00 a.m. as planned. Enjoyed perfect weather (off and on sunshine and clouds and 50+ degrees), reasonable traffic except for one stretch on I-276 toward the end of the trip, and a nice assortment of classical music and NPR news on the radio, mixed with two editions of "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" I had downloaded to my computer from iTunes.

We checked in to the hotel and then got to Jen and Matt's by about 8:00 for a nice visit along with pumpkin cheesecake and decaf. We oooed and ahhhed over their latest round of renovations (a professional tile job on the kitchen floor by Matt, the amateur, and an amateur paint job in the living room and dining room by some workmen, the professionals) and visited till past 11:00.

This morning we're taking our time with showers, breakfast at the hotel, catching up on e-mails and some other work, and hopefully browsing the little shops in Newtown before heading over to Jen's by noon or so to run errands, start cooking for tomorrow, and enjoy more relaxing and reading.

Ten hours is a small investment for the chance to enjoy time with our family (Geoff and Lisa will be here tomorrow!). 

Between Trips

Thursday through Saturday Evelyn and I were at the International Conference on Missions in Indianapolis. I went up Thursday morning in time to present our new student subscription plan to the Christian college presidents meeting before the convention began. I'll need to do some serious follow-up with them, I believe, and that will start next week. Shawn McMullen and I set up and manned the 1-space-wide Standard Publishing booth, which received several comments for its modesty (small size and limited offerings). But I thought we made it look as nice as we could, and we DID get a lot of comments, talk with a lot of people, give away some door prizes, and distribute samplers for much of our curriculum, VBS, etc.

We put Lookouts and Christian Standards on all the main session seats before the Friday-night session. Four CCU students helped us, along with Todd and Lynn Dillon and Shawn's daughter, Kelsey. We treated all our workers to dinner as a thank-you. Evelyn posed with Kelsey after dinner before we returned to our respective booth duties and the main session.

Today I cleaned up details, handled correspondence, prepared copy for this week's e-newsletter, and wrote my column that will be posted at christianstandard.com Thursday. Tonight I paid bills. Tomorrow morning we'll be up and at 'em early, in time to pack and be on the road (hopefully) by 9 a.m. It's over the river and through the woods to the grandkids' house we'll go for a big Thanksgiving weekend back East.

Marking the Day, Measuring My Words

What can I say about Dale Reeves and Shawn Krumm? Many things, but the most timely thing to say is that they are two of six members of Standard Publishing's editorial and creative services departments laid off yesterday as we experienced yet another reduction in force. The other four—Ruth Frederick, Steve Clark, Bob Korth, and Marcy Levering—represent some of Standard's longest-term employees. Dale has been with us for 22 years, and at least three of the above four for much longer.
We received a letter explaining that since year over year sales continue to fall, there is just no choice but to cut back our number of employees. At least it didn't use the word that has been reported to have been uttered by some in upper management. Their category for editorial employees: "overhead."
"I'm sorry about yesterday," CEO Peter Esposito said to me in the hallway today. I hesitated, measuring my response, and said finally, "Well, we're all sorry about it, Peter," and then walked away.
That's all that was prudent to say to him or in this public forum. But since I'm writing a diary, I took Dale's and Shawn's picture today to mark the time when this, not the first disappointment at Standard, has happened. We're praying for wisdom, grace, and joy, and actually it was encouraging to see all three displayed by Shawn and Dale today as they packed up their offices for their last day to work for us.
Meanwhile, I'm not discouraged in my own work, because some positive developments for the future of the magazines seem in store. Shawn McMullen and I are standing at a booth space dedicated primarily to The Lookout and Christian Standard at the International Conference on Missions in Indianapolis this week. I spent time today finishing up preparations for the trip, including two presentations: a workshop Friday and a pitch to college presidents tomorrow for student subscriptions to Christian Standard.

A Beautiful Wednesday

Today was beautiful, with a high temperature in the mid-70s and bright sunshine. It gave me a great chance to chronicle the progress of the sugar maple in the back yard--all red now. They're predicting rain and probably some wind the next day or two, so Evelyn thinks we'll be raking Saturday. We'll see. I found some leaf lettuce seeds a few weeks ago and decided to try a fall crop in a flower box on my deck. It has sprouted nicely. We'll see if the hard freeze holds off long enough for us to get a salad!

Spent a lot of today debriefing yesterday's budget meetings. Met with The Lookout folks and our marketing manager and web guy about The Lookout's new web site that went live for the first time today. Did my part on our weekly e-newsletter and wrote a draft of my column that goes live tomorrow (better than writing it tomorrow, don't you think?).
Tomorrow I need to do some planning, manuscript reading, and assigning. I need a big block of time to give to that, and I believe I'll have it tomorrow. I'll let you know.
Previewed the video we'll watch in our men's Bible study tomorrow morning ("The Truth Project," 2nd half of Lesson 2) and visited with Jennifer on the phone till she had to go help Nina with her homework.

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.

Serendipity, Stott, and Sheryl

I mentioned yesterday that I was preparing for the men's small group I was to lead this morning. I was deciding whether to use the study questions in the guide written by John Stott or to go with the questions in the margin of my Serendipity New Testament for Groups. Well, I decided to use some from both.
We read and discussed Romans 10. Of the Jews, Paul said, "I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge" (v. 2). A question prompting quite a bit of discussion was, "How can zeal for God sometimes get in the way of knowing him?"

"It's all about our relationship with him," Tom said. And I spoke about the tension I've often felt to establish the right balance between being and doing. Too often the focus has been on actions when character is the most important issue. We all could think of Christians so preoccupied with doing good things and so pleased with those good deeds that they think more about themselves than the Lord.

Later, we read aloud verses 14, 15:

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Stott's commentary on the text is rich:

The essence of Paul's argument is seen if we put his six verbs in opposite order: Christ sends heralds, heralds preach, people hear, hearers believe, believers call, and those who call are saved. And the relentless logic of Paul's case for evangelism is felt most forcibly when the stages are stated negatively and each is seen to be essential to the next. 

One reason I'm posting these diary entries is to look back later and remember what I've done and thought. Will I be able to say, maybe a year from now, that someone has called on the Lord because I took him or her the good news?

Today was a birthday celebration at work. My colleagues in the Magazines Department at Standard Publishing celebrated with Sheryl Overstreet, assistant editor at The Lookout, whose big day is actually Saturday. She chose Cracker Barrel for the get-together, and we had a great time. I was looking forward to the biscuits all morning!

Shawn McMullen, me, Diane Jones, Sheryl, Mike Helm,
and Jim Nieman ready to enjoy the Cracker Barrel feast. 

A Beautiful Day for Good Reading

I came home to an empty house because my wife, the dedicated exerciser in the family, was outside walking with our neighbor. It was a warm, beautiful, springlike 60 degrees outside. The pinks and oranges in the sunset were an invigorating contrast to the rainy, gray days we've seen so much this January.

I spend much of many days reading, and today was no exception. When David Faust left The Lookout as executive editor to become a freelance columnist for the magazine, we missed the contribution his weekly proofreading gave us. So now, Shawn McMullen, editor, does that proofreading, and sometimes he asks Jim Nieman, Christian Standard managing editor, or me to read the proof.

I got a preview of the March 18 edition
of The Lookout when I read its
proof this morning.

Today I read the proof for the March 18 issue. It's a good one! A review by Marshall Hayden of the churches he visited during the first year after he retired as minister of Worthington Christian Church, a nice article about deaf ministries in Indianapolis, and part of the Sunday school lesson treatment written by Jennifer Taylor!


This evening I'll finish preparing to lead the discussion at my men's group that will meet tomorrow at 6 a.m. That's right, I said 6 a.m.

We're studying Romans, and tomorrow we're ready for chapter 10. We're following an outline suggested by John Stott's Romans: Encountering the Gospel's Power, published by InterVarsity. It's a solid, dependable guidebook, but sometimes I prefer the discussion questions in the old Serendipity New Testament for Groups. What I need to do yet tonight is decide which questions out of Stott and which questions out of Serendipity I'll choose to guide our discussion tomorrow. I'll tell how it goes in tomorrow's post.