Waiting . . . and Remembering

It's 10:05, and Evelyn's been on the road since 8:30, driving home from her volunteer stint at the Healing Center. Route 747 is a parking lot between Tylersville Road and Hamilton-Mason Road, just a couple of miles from home. I'll be glad when she gets here.

Today I posted my column at ChristianStandard.com, which used much of what I had written here a couple of days ago. I had an inspiring subject!

Celebrating a Hero

This may have been one of the best-planned, most memorable funerals I've ever attended. And possibly that's because the deceased person honored had planned the service herself! Kristen Reeves, Marjorie Reeves Miller's daughter-in-law told me, "We knew this box existed and inside it was the funeral she had planned. But we had never seen it. What an experience to see, in her handwriting, step by step what was to happen at her funeral service."
Dale had told me his mother's funeral would be a celebration of her life and that God would be glorified, and certainly both were true.
I had known her and worked with her and come to love her long after she had made the move to Cincinnati as a young widow with three young children to start a new life in a new place with no car but a great deal of conviction. It was good to hear how she made life work for her and her kids and how she gave herself to rearing them even while working full-time at Standard Publishing. It was good to hear each of her three children offer their testimonies, with Scriptures and theme headings she had set down in that plan inside that box. It was refreshing to see the beautiful program, to read the fun anecdotes from her grandkids, to enjoy the balloons instead of flowers (her directive), and to anticipate a bright day ahead of us "when we all get to Heaven" (the song she had chosen for us to sing).
It was good to spend a moment of silence pondering our own commitment to the Lord she loved so much and to know that her final wish was for everyone in her funeral audience to love Him as much as she did. It was remarkable to hear that her wish for memorial gifts was that they be given somewhere to tell little children about Jesus, preferably children who wouldn't know about him without the gifts.
We're better people for having known Marjorie Reeves. And we're better people for having remembered her at her funeral. I'm so glad I was there.

Pondering the Shadow

I've been pondering that oft-quoted phrase in the 23rd Psalm, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. . . ."
I used to think the phrase described only certain people at certain stages of life. When faced with a terminal illness, you're walking through the valley of the shadow of death. When you've lost your mother or a good friend, you must walk through that lonely valley. When comforting someone in that valley, you're in the presence of the shadow of death.
But I've decided the phrase really applies to everyone alive on this earth. Because, from the moment we're born, we're in the shadow of death.
Nurses in the delivery room scurry to check vital signs to discover if there's any imminent threat to the infant's new life.
Mothers read books about childhood illnesses and pester the pediatrician about symptoms they can't understand.
Fathers worry when they finally hand the car keys to the new teen driver.
Young adults monitor their diets and plan their exercise regimens--all in pursuit of sure ways to delay an early death.
And older adults laugh about their aches and pains and pills and prescriptions, because they don't want to discuss how the shadow is getting darker and larger as the reality it represents grows closer.
This sounds a little morbid, but I don't mean it that way. But I have been thinking about death as I've realized three golden saints have walked through the valley and past the doorway of death in just the last few days.
Last week we attended the visitation for Alice Weiner. Soon after we learned that Sherwood Smith had died. Tomorrow I'll attend Marjorie Miller's funeral. All three led exemplary lives. All three challenge me to be better, to develop a sharper focus, to imitate Christ much better than I have so far.
The shadow is not a bad place. It provides shade and rest, protection from the heat of the day. And from the shadow we have a clear vision of the light.
These are unfinished thoughts, but I'll treat my diary as a sketchbook for the final column I want to write for Christian Standard--probably tomorrow after returning from Marge's memorial service, in time to post at ChristianStandard.com on Thursday.

I attended a simple training session for worship service hosts at church at 6:30 and then returned home to enjoy a bowl of Evelyn's wonderful white chicken chili before doing my errands to get ready for tomorrow. It's been a productive (although not noteworthy) day, and I'm looking forward to fond memories, challenging thoughts, and good fellowship at the funeral and dinner afterwards tomorrow.

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!

Thoughts from a Museum (and Another Fine Sermon)

I was thinking about our outing yesterday as I was reflecting on this morning's sermon. Maybe the connection is a stretch, but, hey, it's MY diary! :-)
Yesterday we went with Shirley and Terry Wuske to the  Cincinnati Museum Center. She had snagged some free admission tickets from a stack that had been given to Ronald McDonald House (they had more than they could give to their guests). We had talked about getting together in the evening, and we decided just to start earlier to take advantage of the tickets.
We only had time to visit the Cincinnati section of the museum, and not really all of that, in the two hours we were there. We definitely want to go back.

This is a depiction of Music Hall as it existed at the turn of the century,
with a look remarkably like today's.

This is a view of downtown Cincinnati, as it appeared in the 1940s. 

We spent the most time at the first exhibit, a scale model of Cincinnati as it looked in the 1940s (I think), and then another section showing parts of the city at the turn of the century. It was great fun to see the buildings we know now that were already part of the Cincinnati scene then. And it was very interesting to see how the streets and neighborhoods have changed.
(We retired to their house after the museum closed for yummy vegetable soup and cornbread made by Shirley and a little chocolate cake brought by the Taylors from Graeter's.)
Then this morning, Trevor preached the fourth sermon in his series on names of God. El Elyon means God Most High or Sovereign God; this is the God who is in control. I've thought a lot about how regularly I seek to keep control of whatever situation I'm in. The familiar story of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego reminded us that God is in control even when the situation seems hopeless. "God will be with you in your furnace," was a new thought to me. It's a blessing and a challenge to think about.
So here's my odd (or maybe it seems terribly apparent) connection: The world around us is changing, more rapidly than most people my age would have imagined 30 or 40 years ago. Certainly the Cincinnati of today is way different from the Cincinnati depicted in the scale models in the museum. It's true we're still using some buildings already built 60 or 100 years ago. But many are used in far different ways than originally intended. Most are in neighborhoods that have changed dramatically over the decades. And the facades of our business districts give no clue to the revolution in technology and demographics that has changed every facet of American life, just in my lifetime.
But God Most High is still in control. And regardless of political changes, social upheaval, or demographic trends, he steadfastly loves us and helps us pursue his unchanging will.
It's a helpful thought to begin the week. I need to be more about seeking him than reacting to change around me, or at least responding to change with him in mind.

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.

Breakfast before Bible Study

All but two of the guys in our Thursday-morning men's Bible study got together for breakfast at Cracker Barrel today. We arrive when the place opens--at 6:00 a.m.! In spite of the early hour, we have lots of laughter and good sharing. We're starting a study of Revelation next week, using a guide written by N.T. Wright. It's 20 sessions long, so that will keep us busy till June!