Getting Ready to Hit the Books

Hiya.

I'm getting ready for a long day in the ol' arm chair today. We've got the week off from school due to Thanksgiving and this should give me the chance to get ahead on some of my coursework… yeah, right. This was the intention for Monday and Tuesday as well, but we ended up actually doing some long needed housework and the Dance Class Shuffle last night for the girls. Big fun. Now I've got to settle in and get busy on reading a couple hundred pages and writing responses to same where required. Not a big deal, but all the reading tends to make me want a nap.

Nothing much else to report. Everything went well with our trip to North Dakota to get Pastor Susan all installed in her church there. G'ette sang well, as usual, and I got to preach at a whole new group of people. I hope that went well. I received some good feedback and will accept it as is. (I tend to be overly critical of my own messages.) The town was quite nice. A typical Midwestern mini-city of about 15,000 with the usual farm town feel.

We ate at another hole-in-the-wall Mom and Pop cafe and that was fun for me having been raised in and near one. I almost expected Grandma Lottie's long-time head waitress, Vivian Doring, to come out of the kitchen at any time. Vivian was the classic "old broad" in my young eyes. She had a mouth like a sailor, but a real heart of gold… especially with us young kids. I truly miss the days of padding down to the cafe after a morning at the swimming pool and bellying up to the bar for a real hamburger, Grandma's perfect american fries and a bottle of Crush. Orange, Grape or Cherry as the mood suited, though don't have one of each in one sitting or you'll upchuck on the bar. I've tried it… you won't dig it. Doing so tends to piss Vivian off.

I know the adults, who put in some extremely long days for very little pay, probably remember those days quite differently, but for me, "Grandma's Boy" at the front counter, my time at Lottie's cafe will always be a golden memory. What I wouldn't give to sit there just one more time and hear the chatter from the booths and the roll of the men's poker dice with the cloud of cigarette smoke hovering about three foot off the ground and the scent of fresh, hot coffee and honest-to-goodness home cooking coming from the kitchen.

The thing I remember most about those days at Lottie's Cafe is that you really can't divide one from the other. There was a constancy to things there. The same men would come for the same menu day in and day out. The conversations were always the same too. "How are the crops?" "Whatcha got planned for the day?" "How are they biting?" "Did ya hear the one…" They came there because it was their place. It's what they did. Grandma putting on her servant's towel (as I see it now through iPastor eyes) and taking care of her people and Grandpa holding court with the boys.

As we near Thanksgiving, I don't have to wonder about what I'm thankful for. I was raised in a stable, loving environment by people (not just my parents) who actually cared about me. What a gift that was, and how I wish more people could say the same. I don't have any doubts that my own children will be able to, and that is another thing to be thankful for. What I wonder about is what I am missing as Georgette and I race along trying to provide for this brood of ours. Is there something about our lives that means something more to them than we're aware? What is it they will look back on 20 or 30 years from now and say "What I wouldn't give to do that just one more time."

Take some time this holiday to slow down. Enjoy the moments. They'll be gone before you know it.

A Return to Sanity

Hello again.

Well, I got the good word today that soil sampling is done for the year. Woo Hoo!

For those that may be unaware, the past month has been… well, busy doesn't even begin to describe it. I have been soil sampling for Centrol during the day, working the night job for Tri-State security during the wee hours and squeezing my schoolwork in besides. This past week, for example, I put in 86 hours of work and another 20 or so on school, so sleep has been something caught wherever possible in between. Because of this, work at and on Firestorm has been almost non-existant though I did manage to crank out a few minor projects anyway. Friday is pay day and that should be fun, but I am more than ready for a return to a more sane schedule. (Isn't it funny that we now consider only working two jobs + school to be sane?)

We got the Halloween thing taken care of last night, so there is candy galore in the house, but I haven't dove in it yet today. We decided we really like the chewy SweetTarts. I'll probably go look for some after I'm done with this post. I had a wonderful time wishing everyone a "Happy Reformation Day" since it was Oct. 31, 1517 that Martin Luther picked to nail up his 95 Theses on the church. This is the type of trivial factoid that I revel in sharing, and I love the astounded looks it elicits.

I've heard it said that for a Christian to celebrate Halloween is like asking a Jew to celebrate the Nazi party. I understand the thinking, but free candy is free candy. Just because the holiday is of pagan origin doesn't mean that we have to celebrate it in that way. Like everything, it's all about choices, and I choose to recall the wonderful contribution that Luther made when Oct. 31st rolls around… now give me my Snickers!

Be well. Hopefully, now that the scedule is a bit more manageable, I'll pop by here more often and will even be able to get back to adding content to the website to assist you all in spreading the Good News. See ya soon.

How's the month been?

Well, it's been nearly a month since I posted. How are ya?

It's been a busy one for me as I worked to finish the projects on my desk, and headed back for the latest round of classes at Crown College. The first class of the year has been very heavy on the reading and writing with almost no input from faculty. I'll admit this has bristled my Scottish obstinance a bit and has put me in a touch of a bad temperment, but I'm praying for divine help to remain as pleasant as possible.

We're still waiting on the harvest to progress to the point to allow soil sampling to get underway for the year and the rain is not helping one bit. I'm looking forward to several weeks in a truck with the iPod and dreading it at the same time. It gets to be very long days, and with the added preasure of keeping current on course work, time will no doubt become a concern. For once, I'm pleased that things are slow at Firestorm to allow me to concentrate on these other areas but with winter heating bills looming that pleasure won't last too long.

That's about all I have for you today. I think I'll go get a jump on this week's reading for class and try to formulate a plan to actually get some things accomplished today.

A Quiet Rainy Day

Following a morning meeting with a client, I'm home again finding quiet stuff to do. It seemed appropriate with the rain we've had all morning, and my editing projects are all at hold points while clients do things on their ends.

Paige is assisting with the ongoing project of converting all my old vinal into AAC format for easier use and iPoddability. (Hey, I've made a new word!) I'm also reading in Greg Ogden's "Unfinished Business: Returning the Ministry to the People" between other tasks and am about to head over (electronically) to Crown College to take part in this week's discussion.

We had a lovely time last night testing out the new projector by watching a movie with friends. It looks fantastic! I just wish I had more area in the studio to make an even bigger picture. I am a guy, after all, and bigger always equals better, you know. The thing is capable of throwing a 23 foot image, but I'd have to be outside for that. I'll have to get together with Pastor Bob the Builder and revamp the outdoor screen we had made for Harvest Fest. It worked swell for something we threw together, but I think it's time to build a really nice one that will withstand the weather.

Our weekend trip to the LifeLight music festival looks to be in question with rain in the forecast for the entire weekend. It's too bad because the kids were really looking forward to it, as was I. The biggest calling card for us was definately Casting Crowns, who are well loved at our house. If we decide to skip the festival, in general, we may still bop over just for their segment of the show. When admission is free, such options open up.

I'm still planning on getting some free sermon illustrations up on the site for folks to download, and also working on a podcast program to come in the future, but I have some work to finish for some clients before I can make such things a priority. Keep an eye on the site. Things will keep changing and expanding as time permits. Comments are always welcome.

Brother Mark noticed that the IRC chat client on the fellowship page can provide access to other rooms that are decidedly non-Christian, and I'll be working to find a new chat client for that page soon. Hopefully, people will not go to places they shouldn't… or if they do, they will be going there to spread the Good News to people who need to hear it.

Be well, folks. I'll type at ya later.

New Projection Services Added

Well, I just bit the bullet and acquired a nice DLP Projector for Firestorm.

I've wanted one for a while, and it'll be nice to have, but they certainly aren't cheap!
At this particular time I have a client who needed me to provide projection services for an event, so it provided me with a good excuse, but I'm hoping there will be others of you out there that will need this service or it will turn out to be an expensive way for me and the kids to watch movies -really BIG movies- at home.

SO… if you've got an upcoming gathering and need some multimedia projected, give me a call.

…and I guess "Movie Night" at the church is officially a go, starting in September. Pastor Bob should be pleased at that news.

Initial Post

Hi there.

People have long told me that I should have a blog on the website like Georgette does. I've even tried it a few times.

One of the main reasons I've never continued is that I am not a frequent poster. As the main at Firestorm, there always seems to be something else I should be doing than typing up my random thoughts. After a few rounds of hearing, "Gee, you haven't posted for a while." I say "to heck with it" and chuck the whole idea.

Another problem is that I do, indeed, believe in the "journaling" concept. I think it's a great way to get (and keep) your thought life in order, but blogging and journaling are two entirely different concepts in my mind. The things I put in jounals are completely inappropriate for the blog-o-sphere. If my journal is to be of any value, it must, by definition, remain private.

This has come up a couple of times during my classes at Crown College. Various professors ask (sometimes require) us to keep a journal, never realizing that the exercise is made worthless by the very idea that it is written for their consumption. I've tried to make this point to them without much success. Oh well. I just continue to write up something to fill the course requirements, and keep my "real" entries in my private, encrypted, password-protected journal.

So, anyway, here we go again. I'll try to come up with something once in a while, but if you find yourself thinking, "Gee, he hasn't posted in a while" keep it to yourself. Some of us have work to do.