So you guys think I look like this?

Michael Douglas in Falling Down

Some of my friends on Facebook think I kinda look like this guy, except without the broken glasses. I saw this movie (Falling Down) at the theater, and were you like me? Did you think it was going to be more of a comedy, based on the previews. I sure did. But it wasn't a comedy at all. It was pretty dark, in fact.

Billy Currington Vampire

Wow! You're better than Google

According to an article by Rob Waugh, columnist for the Daily Mail, “most children would prefer to ask Google if they have a question – not their parents.” The research indicates that 54 percent of children, ages 6 to 15, would turn to Google before their parents or teachers. Is it a sign of the times? Maybe so.

“Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it” (Proverbs 22:6). It doesn’t say to turn your children over to the internet to gain wisdom and knowledge. Yes, Google has come into our lives, and in many ways, has enriched us. But there is nothing like face to face conversations for sharing life principles, knowledge, and wisdom.

I once received a text message from my son. He was on a mission trip to Oklahoma and wanted to know some Bible verses about worship and serving others. He needed them fast because he was asked to lead a devotional later that week. Well, being the caring dad I am, I texted him 5 or 6 Bible verses that speak to those subjects. Almost immediately, he texted back “Wow! You’re better than Google.” That made my day!

It turns out that Millennials, those born between 1977 and 1998, and the latest generation to enter the workplace, value mentorship. According to Judith Lindenberger, “they are 75 million strong in size and are characterized as being self-confident, focused on learning and moving up quickly, team-oriented, well networked, and technologically savvy.”

Millennials also love imparting their knowledge in a process called “reverse mentoring.” Lindenberger tells us that “the beauty of reverse mentoring comes from the fact that Millennials thrive on relationships. Powerful relationships are created when younger employers are engaged in teaching senior employees. Because Millennials love sharing their ideas and want to know that they are being heard, if you invite them to give you constructive feedback, you can gain a different perspective and help them learn leadership skills.”

Can the church learn something from this? I believe so. Our church has many in the older generation who could mentor young people. In turn, these same young people can share their knowledge. We’ve got to figure out ways to connect generations in our church. A lot of love, wisdom and knowledge can be mutually gained by all.

I was given an accordion today. Now what am I gonna do? New instrument to learn. Yeah!!!!

Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks vacation, part 1

Justin’s Graduation Trip

On July 4th, while a lot of people were sleeping late and going to parades, my family was flying out to California for a vacation at Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. Leslie, Justin, his girlfriend Boni, Faith and I, flew out to Fresno, California. From there we rented a minivan and drove up to Yosemite National Park.

This vacation was for all of us, but it was also to celebrate Justin’s graduation from high school. We started thinking about this part of the country while watching Ken Burns’ highly acclaimed The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. It reminded us of the wonderful parks we’ve already visited, but made us want to visit more of these them, particularly Yosemite. And since Sequoia National Park was nearby, we decided to visit there too.

Yosemite National Park

Driving into Yosemite Valley for the first time reminded me of when I first saw the Grand Teton mountain range, as a child. Places like these with their panoramic vistas draw you in with their awesome beauty. When you see these places, particularly for the first time, you just want to stay awhile and take it all in.

While in Yosemite, we enjoyed visiting many of the park’s wonders, particularly the waterfalls. As I write this, I think about the drought we presently have in Texas. But the Yosemite waterfalls just kept gushing from all the snowmelt in the mountains above. Incidentally, we couldn’t have come to Yosemite at a better time because they had so much snow this past winter, which in turn, meant the falls had a higher volume of water.

Hiking

Most of these beautiful places in Yosemite involved short walks to and from. But Justin and I actually hiked the 8.2 miles Panorama Trail from Glacier Point to the valley floor. Pictures cannot capture what we saw and experienced on that hike. We saw Half Dome, the park’s most imposing granite feature, from many angles, and visited two or three waterfalls from above.

All the jogging and bicycle riding I’ve done in the last several weeks didn’t fully prepare me for this strenuous hike. We were pretty sore for the next few days. In fact, I walked funny and at a slower pace than usual. But I wouldn’t have traded the experience for anything!

Biking

Leslie and I rented bikes for a full day in Yosemite, which is a great way to see the valley. Their bike paths are some of the best I’ve seen in all the national parks we’ve visited. So if you visit the park, and you’re able to, I recommend renting one of these bikes because you can sometimes get to places faster than taking the park’s free shuttle service, with buses that fill up quickly with tourists.

Lee Stetson as John Muir

Later that evening we all enjoyed a live one-man play in Yosemite Theatre. It was Lee Stetson playing the part of naturalist John Muir (1838-1914). Through his writings, Muir did more to bring Yosemite and the entire Sierra Nevada range to the mind of the American public than just about anybody, with a view toward preserving these areas so that future generations could enjoy their natural beauty.
If you’ve seen the National Parks special I mentioned above, Lee Stetson was featured quite a bit when talking about the life of John Muir.

Park Ranger Shelton Johnson

Another person you see a lot in the special is National Park Ranger Shelton Johnson. I knew for a fact that Shelton was a park ranger in Yosemite, so I spent 3 days asking other rangers if he was around. The first two days of our visit in the park, Shelton was finishing up a business trip to Alaska, but on this last day of our visit, he was there!

The day before meeting Shelton in person, I bought his first novel, Gloryland, which is about a buffalo soldier stationed at Yosemite in the early 1900s. As a matter of fact, Shelton’s passion is researching the role of buffalo soldiers in the national park system. Shelton, the park’s only African-American ranger, is for bringing more African-Americans to the National Parks, so they can experience the beauty and grandeur of these places. As it is, a very small percentage of them actually visit the parks at the present time.

Super Bowl canceled

Of course I'm just kidding and having a little fun here. The Superbowl is still on. :-) But thanks for clicking. Since you clicked here, here's a little look back at all the basic statistics of Super Bowl: The teams who've played in the Bowl, as well as the final scores. It's on the NFL website, and goes back to 1967, Super Bowl's first year.

Even Gangsters are touched by nature's beautty

Yellowstone National Park. Justin was trying to secretly videotape this streetwise gang member from L.A. But then he got a little too close. The gang member asked him where the falls were. And the funny thing is that the gang member was standing right in front of them. When Justin pointed in the direction of the falls, the gang member turned around and looked, and dropped his jaw! He was so smitten by nature's beauty, he couldn't even pause to thank Justin. Instead, he just kept staring at the falls! What a moment! Glad Justin caught it on tape.

Summer Vacation 2010 Part 5

Day 10:

Visited Badlands National Park and continued south to Colorado Springs. My mother-in-law described the Badlands better than anyone, I think. She says it’s like driving on the moon. If you want to see the Badlands featured in a movie, look at the opening scenes in Jurassic Park. Some people camp at the Badlands, but I prefer places like the Tetons and Yellowstone. Nevertheless, we just had to see this strange and wonderful park, because we’re not up this direction too often. On the way to Colorado Springs, two coyotes crossed the road in front of us. Pretty neat.

Day 11:

OK, I’m caught up and typing in the present tense, as I sit in the passenger seat while Justin drives. But what is there to say? We have a 9-hour trip to Lubbock. Woo Hoo. The mountains to the West of us are nice. About to go through Pueblo, Colorado. I have fond memories of tent camping at a KOA there when my dad took us to the Tetons in 1977!

Day 12:

Just got home after traveling from Lubbock. Stopped in Llano along the way to visit some friends. Overall, an easy day of travel. It's been a wonderful vacation. Now for the unpacking! I must say that we were blessed with great weather just about the whole time we were gone. It was a whirlwind, but a family vacation we will all remember for some time.

Summer Vacation 2010 Part 4

Day 8:

This day was for travelling. We went to Hill City, South Dakota, which took all day. Travelled through Cody, Wyoming, which is the rodeo capitol of the world. The most beautiful parts of the drive were also the parts that slowed our progress: the mountains, which we had on the west side of the state, as well as the east. But I love the mountains, so I’m not complaining. Saw several mule deer in the eastern part of the state.

Day 9:

Today we saw the Crazy Horse Memorial and Mount Rushmore! Between the two parks, we drove through Custer State Park, where a buffalo stepped in the road in front of us and just stayed there. Leslie, who was driving, obviously stopped the car, as well. I leaned out the window to take a picture. You gotta know we were like 5 feet away from this huge mammal. From the backseat, Justin could only say “for the love of God, would you please back up?!?”

Unlike Yellowstone and the Tetons, I had never been to these great American tourist sites. Crowded at both attractions, but a wonderful experience, overall. These rock sculptures take years to complete, with lots of dynamite! The horse alone at the Crazy Horse memorial will take 10 to 15 more years to complete. And did you know that Mount Rushmore was never completed? It’s OK, though. I can’t imagine it looking any other way, can you?

It’s one thing to see pictures of these great monoliths, but nothing compares to being there. “Huge” doesn’t even come close to describing these things. To give you some perspective, sculpturing Mount Rushmore began in the 1920s and took 14 years. Crazy Horse, which is much larger, was begun in the late 1940s. The stories behind these great works of art are incredibly interesting, and worth looking up.

We saw a mountain goat while we were at Mount Rushmore. And we saw an introductory video about wildlife in the park. The narrator talked about the very common mule deer, as opposed to the rare sighting of white tail deer. “Ha!” I thought. “Just visit my front yard. You’ll be able to see all the white tail deer you want!”

Summer Vacation 2010 Part 3

Day 7:

I kept telling my family that we had a long drive ahead of us, and this was the day. I’m not talking about driving across a state. I’m talking about just driving the grand loop of Yellowstone. Because we stopped to visit the various sites along the way, this loop took us 11 hours to complete! So we began our journey about 9:30 in the morning, traveling clockwise.

First, we came to the Old Faithful, the most famous feature of the park. We were lucky that we arrived about 15 minutes before the next eruption was to occur. So we raced to find a place among the thousand or so other visitors that were there at the time. Sure enough, it went off right on time. I don’t know all the math and science that goes into predicting the time of the eruptions, but I respect the people who take care of it for the rest of us!

Next, we visited Grand Prismatic Spring, another hydrothermal feature, with water the color of deep blues and greens, as well as mixtures of orange, red, and yellow along the edges. Like the Marfa lights in Texas, this is just hard to describe. You really must see this for yourself. Or, if you like, look it up on the internet.

Our next stop, Mammoth Hot Springs, is also hard to describe. The area looks like cave formations, except on the earth’s surface, and the smell of sulpher is almost overwhelming. Very cool site, though. Following this, we went to the place that gave Yellowstone its name: the waterfalls and the canyon. This particular canyon really does have a yellow-colored stone. Imagine that? And the upper and lower falls are majestic! After visiting the falls, we went back to our room and crashed.

Along the road on this trip, we saw a grizzly bear and her two cubs, as well as a black bear. Wow! These animal sightings made the trip that much more special.

Summer Vacation 2010 Part 2

Day 5:

It was nice waking up in the Tetons. I came here with my family when I was a young teen back in 1977, and then again in 1979. So it's been a long time since I've seen these mountains. I woke before the rest of the family and went to have breakfast at the lodge. Someone yelled that they saw a grizzly out the large windows that face the mountains. So I hurried over there, and borrowed the guy's binoculars. Sure enough, out in the field was this grizzly looking for breakfast among an elk herd.

On this day we hiked in the Rockefeller Preserve in the south end of the park. The destination was a very nice glacial lake. We stuck our tired feet in the water, which was refreshing. On the hike back from the lake, we followed a creek all the way down, crossing it several times on walking bridges that offered magnificent views of the clear flowing water, as well as the mountains directly above us.

After hiking, we went to stay in a cabin at Colter Bay, on the northern end of the park. Has anyone ever told you that the driving distances in these national parks! That's OK, though. It allows us to slow down and take in the beauty. Saw a herd of buffalo grazing by the side of the road on the way back. I forgot to mention we saw a couple of female moose grazing by the river the day before. We all really enjoy seeing the animals.

Day 6:

It was time to go north to Yellowstone National Park, which almost borders the Tetons, except for about 8 miles in the middle. We set up "camp" at one of the rooms in Grant Village, named after President Ulysses S. Grant, who established Yellowstone as the world's first national park in 1872. Since the West Thumb hydrothermal features were a couple of miles down the road, we visited them. These pools of hot to boiling water are the strangest sights in the park, and something to see at least once in your life. That evening we enjoyed a Ranger talk at the visitor center.

Summer Vacation 2010 Part 1

Day 1:

After a wonderful 4th of July service at our church, Justin, Faith, and I, hit the road. Leslie was to join us later, as she was flying up to meet us. We made it to Lubbock, where we tent camped next to a local lake. The problem was that our neighbor thought it was important to play loud, blaring music all night. So at 11:30 p.m. I told Justin and Faith that it was time to go find a hotel, which we did! We had to get our sleep because we had a long drive ahead of us.

Day 2:

We made it to Estes Park, CO, where we tent camped at their KOA. We got pretty cold that evening, even though our sleeping bags are rated to withstand the cold. It was nice to finally be in the mountains.

Day 3:

Began the day by driving through Rocky Mountain National Park. Justin drove the whole way, and I didn't even pass out. Saw some elk in the park. The highest point in the park was about 12,500 feet above sea level! Saw some Amish people too. But they live in lower altitudes, as well. After leaving the park, we were on our way to Dubois, WY, where we stayed in another KOA. But this time we stayed in one of their little cabins because the weather report said it was going down to 38 degrees during the night.

Day 4:

Made it to our first destination about 10 a.m: Grand Teton National Park. Justin, Faith, and I went to Jenny Lake and hiked up to Inspiration Point. This was the first of a couple of hikes we took up there. And it was beautiful! Next we went to Jackson Hole Airport to pick Leslie up from her flight. While waiting for Leslie, U.S. Senator Harry Reid walked by with a small entourage of secret service men. They were all in suits. Now if the senator wanted to enjoy the Tetons, he needed to dress down a bit. There's no way I would go on a hike while wearing a suit and tie.

We were very happy to have Leslie join us. After picking her up, we drove down to Jackson Hole, ate at a nice restaurant, and drove back to the park, where we enjoyed a night at the Jackson Lake Lodge.

More to come in Part 2 of our Summer Vacation.

You Were Meant For More

You Were Meant For More is the title of a Nov. 23rd blog post by pastor William Vanderbloemen. Here's his post:

Chances are, God has a higher view of you than you do. Here’s what He says about you:

You are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. (1 Peter 2:9-10, The Message)

Do you ever find yourself thinking you’re just a face in the crowd. That you’re in a rut that won’t ever end? Ever wonder if you will ever amount to anything?

It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that you are just a face in the crowd, a number in the masses, or a wisp of air. Today’s “First Thought” comes out of some pretty jarring words from Peter’s first letter in the New Testament. Let those words sink in. Let them make a difference in the way you view yourself.

You are a difference maker. You have been called to be a contributor to the greatest movement the world has ever known. God wants to use you to change the world, one life at a time. How? by telling those you see what a difference God has made in your life.

In the season leading up to Christmas, people around you are more ready than you know to hear that God loves them, that God matters, and that their lives can change.

Who can you talk to? What can you tell them about the difference God has made in your life?

It will mean more than can imagine.

To read more encouraging words from Pastor Vanderbloemen, check out his blog here: http://williamvanderbloemen.com/

Clark Howard's Advice on How Long to Keep Records

I found the following helpful. Maybe you will too. Do you agree with his advice? For example, I always thought we should keep bills for at least one year. According to Clark, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Read on:

The amount of records you should keep is actually more limited than you think. Here is Clark's advice on what to keep and for how long, and what to get rid of...

What records to keep:

• Tax returns, keep forever
  
• Tax return documentation, for six years
  
• Contracts, forever
  
• Real estate records, forever
  
• Last pay stub of a job if you leave that job
  
• Last pay stub of the year for your current job
  
• All mortgage payment checks (statements), until mortgage is paid off
  
• All student loan payments, until loan is paid off
  
• Car loan payment stubs, until the car is paid off
  
• Cancelled checks, for 7 years
  
• Bank deposit slips, for 7 years
  
• Bank statements, for 7 years
  
• Home improvement records, ownership period plus 7 years
  
• Investment records, ownership period plus 7 years
  
  What records to toss:
  
• Credit card statements that are more than three years old
  
• Past insurance statement
  
• Old utility bills, except the most recent one from your old address if you've moved
  
• Recently paid bills (statements), once you have something saying they've been paid

Van & Mary Vee Keese

There's an amazing couple in our church: Van and Mary Vee Keese. Van was a B17 pilot in WWII. I would like to repost a blog entry here, having to do with his service in the war. It was written by B.K. Blackwell, and you can read the original post here. The pictures I post here are from Mr. Blackwell's blog.

I'm writing this on June 14, 2009, for reference. About a year ago, I received an email from Larry Keese who is the son of the Buckeye Babe's Pilot, Van Keese. Larry had been Google searching for information about his (and my) Dad's B-17 bomber, the Buckeye Babe, and discovered this website. In his email Larry informed me his Dad was still alive, 89 years old and living in Wimberley, Texas with his Wife (and Larry's Mom) Mary. I was like, "What an amazing coincidence!" I wanted to hop in the car and go to Wimberley right away but circumstances, a hurricane (Ike) and surgery (mine) stood in the way. Finally, a few weeks ago, Judith and I had the chance to go to Austin for a visit with her Sister & Husband. Wimberley is just down the road from Austin so I went for it :) Judith couldn't accompany me so my Cousin, Chip, came along. We both grew up in Illinois but are now transplanted Texans. Chip and I traveled to Wimberley on a beautiful day and arrived to a very sweet and poignant reception. Van and Mary were so happy to meet us and offered us a very warm welcome. Van is the last living member of the Buckeye Babe's crew. It is a miracle that anyone in the 8th Air force survived the War. That Van's piloting skills brought both he and his crew home alive is nothing short of a miracle. Plus, neither my Brother nor I would be alive today if it weren't for Van (and his crew's) heroic efforts to survive their missions. I got a photo of Van and Mary the day we visited and am very grateful to have the opportunity to share their happy faces with the whole world. God bless them both!

PopZ

This morning I visited Al Brinkley (PopZ) and his family at the hospital. Al went home to be with the Lord about an hour after I left. He and his wife, Mary Helen (MomZ), have raised a family of singers. It was my pleasure to sing with them today--four sisters and a brother--as we all sang hymns and gospel songs together--in perfect harmony, I might add! I know Al was comforted by the singing. I told the family that every person in a hospital bed should be so blessed to have a family of wonderful singers who are singing songs about our heavenly home.

In my prayer with the family I said how truly blessed I was to sing and visit with this wonderful family. It really is true that when you seek to be a blessing to others, that you end up being the one who is blessed. And besides comfort and blessing, there was quite a bit of worship going on too.

PopZ was loved by so many people. Besides MomZ and the kids, their good friends, Ann and Betty were there. The room was filled with a lot of love and wonderful memories. I thank the Lord that I was there to share in this sacred moment. My prayers are with the family.

"Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20).

Speicher and the Lost Sheep

Today the news announced that the remains of Lt. Cdr. Scott Speicher had been positively identified. His plane went down at the beginning of the Gulf War in 1991. After 18 years, this is incredible news. It underscores the military's commitment to search for its comrades, both living and fallen. After hearing the story this morning on the news, I was glad that his family finally has some closure.

I was also reminded of the story Jesus told of the lost sheep in Luke 15:

Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

I thank God that he searches for people until He finds them. I would give up, but He never does. I would become discouraged, but God, out of His matchless love, stays on the hunt! And when He finds the lost sheep, all the neighbors and frends are called to rejoice with Him. I confess that I've given up on people before, but my prayer today is that I will be able to see with God's eyes just how valuable people are. I pray that God gives me the ability to encourage people in their walk with the Lord, and invite others to join in on the journey of faith that leads to Christ, the Good Shepherd who never gives up on us!

William Vanderbloemen's Thoughts on Hope

Where can you find hope?

I have hope for the future. God has hope for your future. He has promised it. And so I believe you should enter today choosing to hope.

But what does that mean? Where do we find hope?

Sometimes, people think that hope can be secured by living well enough. The thinking goes like this, “If I invest well, my future will be secure.” Or, “If I follow the rules, if I keep my nose clean, if I do what is right, then I have a reason to hope.”

But if you have read the news at all, you know we cannot invest well enough to secure a hope. If you have lived long enough, you have probably realized that none of us are able to keep all the commandments, or live well enough to secure our hope.

This week, I studied and found that the word hope does not occur in the Bible until the book of Ruth. That may not sound important, but a little reflection brought me to an important realization. The word hope cannot be found in the first five books of the Bible, the books that our faith has called “The Law.” My realization,

You will not find hope in the Law.

You will not find hope in your behavior. Nor will you find it in what you know. You will find it in a different kind of relationship with God, one that is based on a heart to heart connection.

Maybe you have been trying too hard to build your own future, or secure your own hope. Let today be a day that is committed to a new kind of hope, one that is based on a heartfelt connection to God. When you do, behavior will flow out it. And hope will flow through your life.

Hopeful,

William

*Read more of Pastor William Vanderbloemen's blog posts here.

A Prayer of St. Augustine

“O Lord, who has warned us that you will require much of those to whom much is given; grant that we whose lot is cast in so godly a heritage may strive together the more abundantly by prayer, by almsgiving, by fasting, and by every other appointed means, to extend to others what we so richly enjoy; and as we have entered into the labors of other men, so to labor that in their turn other men may enter into ours, to the fulfillment of your holy will, and our own everlasting salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

– Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

By the way, I'm finding these prayers on a great blog, the Missional Church Network.

Africa by Toto performed a capella. Incredible!

A good friend just sent this to me. I was a huge Toto fan in the 80s and 90s. I know the song well. This a capella group starts by simulating rain, then performs the song, with all the nuance of the original, but with no instruments. Wonderful stuff. Thank you, Liz, for sending this to me!