Random selections of other blogs. Note: I am not responsible for content on other blogs.
I just wrapped up the holiday redesign of Blue Haven Pools & Spas Supplies Direct -- and it's not even November. We "flipped the switch" yesterday morning.
This coincides with our first-ever Holiday catalog, set to hit mailboxes starting this week. We've added an array (I've been looking for a way to say array) of diverse and fun products.
Take a look for yourself ... who knows ... you might just be inspired to buy me The Tingler!
It's official -- I've been trained to make coffee. In order to continue consuming mass quantities of free coffee at work, I had to go to training. That seemed fair enough to me. Now I'm dangerous ...
"Divine appointments." That’s a phrase I first heard several years ago and it immediately made sense. A divine appointment is one that God places in your path. It may be an unexpected phone call, a question from a stranger, or even the reason behind why you went to Coco’s instead of somewhere else to eat.
I enjoyed a divine appointment last Friday night as I was leaving work. Our parking deck is less than a block from our building and I had just crossed over Broadway on my way to go home. Looking over my shoulder, I see Steve Denney walking up behind me.
Steve is the pastor at CityWalk Christian Church, the downtown church that LifePoint supports with our missions tithe. We’ve had the blessing of helping Steve establish a different type of church for the ever-growing downtown community.
Rather than hop in the car and head home, I ended up taking an hour’s walk with Steve through his neighborhood. I got to see and experience what makes Steve so excited about CityWalk and the opportunity to impact downtown San Diego for God. It was the best way to end a day of work!
Some would say that it was only coincidental that Steve and I crossed paths. Others might say that it was mathematically just a matter of time before we stumbled across each other. Steve lives downtown, I work downtown -- it was just a matter of time.
I’d rather believe that God knew we needed to connect and placed us both at the same intersection at the same time.
Have you had an divine appointments lately? It’s very likely that you have but may not have thought they were. Many of our divine appointments are less obvious than bumping into a good friend in the midst of downtown. They may even come from someone you’ll never see again.
A key part of our spiritual growth is simply being aware of what God is doing. Keep your eyes open -- you might have a divine appointment scheduled.
Why are most people OK with Jesus but not too hip about the church?
That’s a question that modern-day followers of Jesus need to wrestle with. Many pre-Christians and non-church-going folks are attracted to Jesus -- but not his church.
In some cases, it stems from a lack of truly understanding Jesus. In my own life, as I’ve learned more about Jesus, it often challenges me to change something I’d rather hold onto. I’ve discovered that Jesus is far from a soft and cuddly action figure. He’s a cultural and moral risk-taker who challenges his followers to do the same.
That might be enough to unsettle a few of those who claim to like Jesus but not the church.
But that’s only part of the answer. The other part of the answer lies on the inside, not on the outside. It’s a call for the church to practice self-reflection.
It’s too easy to say we’re just misunderstood. That’s a defensive answer that will win no one over to Jesus. The Bible places the burden on the church to paint an authentic picture of what life is like within the faith community. If we are misunderstood, maybe it’s because we’ve allowed it to happen.
Being a part of a church should be noticeably different than attending a business meeting or hanging out at happy hour. There should be the unmistakable spiritual atmosphere that brings to live true priorities, true purpose, and true meaning.
In a culture that is shifting away from Christian influences, churches may be tempted to change
things politically or rely more on marketing to attract crowds.
Neither is inherently wrong. But when they become the dominant identifier of the church, perhaps we’ve lost our way.
Wouldn’t it be much better if a non-believer could say, “If Jesus is like that church, then sign me up!”
As I have said before, I will say again: I am big fan of all-things Google. One of the many things I enjoy about Google are the little surprises they throw your way ... like the ability to do math by typing it in the search bar. Try it sometime: type “2+2” and hit enter. Or put “half a cup in teaspoons” and hit search.
In an age when corporations are all about protecting their “brand,” Google again stands out. Have you ever visited Google and seen a different version of the Google logo? (Visit the archive of Google logos).
Churches lose their way when they become concerned about their “brand.” It’s easy to fall into the image-driven trap of our culture -- to worry more about how you’re perceived than what you’ve become.
Jesus had brand identity: love God and love others.
I started a weekly Q&A at LifePoint last Sunday. We began circulating question cards a few weeks earlier and the response has been really good. It's open to any questions about God, Jesus, the Bible, LifePoint, or the SETI project. OK, maybe no questions about UFO’s.
It's true ... I'm the first official affiliate partner with Blue Haven Pools & Spas Supplies Direct. We're rolling a test affiliate program and since my blog gets swamped by pool enthusiasts from across the globe, I decided to sign up!
Don't worry -- you can sign up, too. Just click here to be on your way.
After picking the aforementioned apples, we set off for the town of Julian, intent on spending an afternoon strolling the streets. For those who aren't San Diego locals, Julian is a historic mining town set in the hills above San Diego. It dates back to the 1800s and is a local treasure.
We were greeted on the road into town by passing fire engines and helicopters flying over head. Yes, we arrived at the same time a fire broke out just over the hill from Julian. From our parking lot we snapped the following pictures:
I can remember going with my parents to an orchard just outside of Peoria. I believe it was called Tanner's Orchard, though I'm not one hundred percent certain. We could pick our own apples and drink apple cider made right at the orchard.
So we decided to take the family up to Julian to a local orchard. We found one through the Julian Chamber of Commerce website and had a blast filling up a bag with apples. The girls went from tree to tree and got to pick their own apples, including a few "baby" apples. Here are a few pictures from the grand event ...
Like many companies, our’s has a company shirt that it gives out to employees. It’s a simple blue polo shirt with the Blue Haven logo embroidered on the left side. I was flattered when they handed me a medium-sized shirt during my new employee welcoming party. Flattery quickly gave way to reality and I swapped it out for a large.
Since one of my determining factors for picking clothes to wear involves choosing the least-wrinkled option, I chose to wear my new shirt to work last week. And so did three of my co-workers and the president of our parent company. We joked about posing for a group picture -- and at least one of the ladies considered leaving early.
As a man, I was thinking ... "If I’m careful and hang this up when I get home, I might get another day of wear out of it."
Companies give out shirts to build camaraderie and team spirit. It’s fairly inexpensive and it helps foster a good feeling among employees.
As Christ-followers, we’ve been issued a set of clothing as well. In fact, it was more like an exchange -- we gave up our old wardrobe in exchange for a new one filled with God’s idea of fashion. Obviously, I’m not talking threads but values and principles and priorities.
The Bible describes the redemptive process in this way: "You are all sons and daughters through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Galatians 3:26-27).
It should be no surprise that when Christians gather for worship or meet over coffee, that they show up wearing the same "clothes." If you’ll pardon my pun in advance, the one common thread we all share is Jesus. As the old hymns says, "Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love."
So the next time you bump into a fellow Christ-follower, greet her by saying, "I just love what you’re wearing." You and I will know what you mean :-)
I'm very interested in all these toy recalls, especially the ones involving Mattel. Back in August when the issue first started heating up and before Mattel was forced to recall not one but multiple items, this quote appeared in the August 3, 2007, copy of the Wall Street Journal:
Mattel won't publicly name the manufacturer until the El Segundo, Calif.,
company completes an investigation of how the toys were tainted. But Jim Walter,
the company's senior vice president of world-wide quality assurance, said, "It's
my understanding that they are producing toys for other companies." He said if
products from the factory were sold to other companies, it would be the
responsibility of the factory owner, not Mattel, to alert them.
"We have no right to go in there to ask, 'Who else are you
producing for, and what else are you making?' " Mr. Walter
said. He added that he had personally received no calls from toy companies
seeking the name of the factory. The Toy Industry Association, which has close
ties to Mattel, said it hadn't asked for information on the toys' source.
That Mr. Walter is the senior vice president of "world-wide quality assurance" is not reassuring to me as a parent. His quote strikes me as "we have no moral or ethical responsibility to our consumers if it doesn't wear a Mattel label."
First of all, a company as large as Mattel surely knows who else is using their vendors and manufacturers. Do they have an a moral or ethical responsibility to their consumers? I think so. Where is the "greater good" concept that people used to believe in?
Personally, I believe most of the toy industry is in the same bed as Mattel and knowingly so. It's hard to believe that these many products could come from the same country and the senior vice president of world-wide quality assurance didn't know they had lead in them.
Second of all, how did this guy get to be a senior vice president of world-wide quality assurance and still allow himself to be quoted like this in the WSJ?
It's obviously a much wider issue than just toys and Mattel. The larger issue is our dependence on cheap stuff and, therefore, our addiction to Chinese resources.
Now, of course, the company is taking a totally different posture and the CEO is putting out warm fuzzy videos that seek to "empathize" with parents and consumers. Maybe it's conscience; it's probably a simple matter of economics spelled C-L-A-S-S- A-C-T-I-O-N- L-A-W-S-U-I-T-S.
Not long after I arrived at work this morning, a few of the co-workers were sharing an interesting bit of customer mail. It seems that someone who had received one of our catalogs decided it was a bit too risque for his/her taste and sent the offending page back in ... along with a Holy Joe tract attached to it. The tract was called "A Dirty Mind."
Many of my co-workers are aware of the fact that I am a pastor. I wanted to say to them, "I'm not THAT kind of pastor." I wanted to explain to them that the Christianity I preach and try to practice is not a cartoon but ones that mixes and meshes with real life. It doesn't feel the need to take a page from a pool supply catalog, strap a devilish tract to it, and mail it to some unknown receiver with a warning about eternal damnation scribbled on the side.
Once the envelope was licked and dropped in the mail, this person probably turned on their television and was bombarded with far more salacious material than what arrived in our catalog. Even worse, they may have propped up their feet with the feeling that they've done their part to make the world a better place.
How risky is it to drop an anonymous note in the mail, along with a 25-cent tract? I'll tell you what's risky -- to live an authentic life that doesn't capitulate to immorality while at the same time being willing to invest yourself in lives that are right smack in the mud.
I winced as the letter and tract were being passed around. What was left unsaid was ... "Are you that kind of Christian?" "Do you carry Holy Joe tracts around in your wallet?"
I have to admit -- I was a bit ashamed. Not of Jesus or his values or his message. But of how we sometimes create unnecessary obstacles for people who haven't plugged into Jesus just yet.
This mistake gets filed under the category of "OOPS." It seems that someone with the Otay Water District (just south of San Diego) hooked up with the wrong pipes a few years ago. Instead of sending regular old drinking water into the business center, it was treated sewage water. "Recycled water" as the district likes to call it. That makes it sounds less like pee and more like taking your cans and bottles out to the curb.
Normally, I would just chuckle at this kind of story and be thankful for living in San Diego. But when the paper comes out with the story, who's in the picture? LifePoint's former bass player and current lead pastor at Wave Christian Church -- Jim Osbourne. Jim's wife, Carla, runs a party supply store in the affected business park! And there is Jim sporting the ever-fashionable Late Show t-shirt.
Here's the Union-Tribune story and picture:
Merchants told water is tainted
Chula Vista center connected to pipes carrying treated sewage
By Anne Krueger
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 22, 2007
Shop owners in a Chula Vista business park knew something was wrong with their water. It tasted bad, smelled funny and had a yellowish tint.
“You would flush the toilet, and it looked like it wasn't flushed,” said Amy Wise, co-owner of the Candy Bouquet, which sends out candy arrangements.
The Otay Water District assured the merchants that the water was fine, but the merchants weren't convinced. The park's property manager sent a water sample to a private lab and got some shocking news Friday.
For two years, occupants of the 17 businesses in Eastlake's Fenton Business Center have been drinking and washing their hands in treated sewage water.
Somehow, the park was hooked up to a pipe carrying recycled water – treated wastewater intended solely for irrigation – instead of drinking water. Now the Otay district is dealing with distraught merchants and the question of how this could have happened.
Signs are now posted on all the businesses warning people not to drink the water. Two food-related businesses – the Candy Bouquet and Dream Dinners, a store that provides ingredients for make-and-freeze meals – were closed by the county Department of Environmental Health.
Yesterday, water district representatives met with the business owners in a hot, empty office at the business park. About 20 people crammed into the tiny room and peppered officials with questions.
“We just want peace of mind,” said Joe Padilla, owner of a computer store.
General Manager Mark Watton didn't have a lot of answers, but he did make some promises. The water district would pay for medical tests for workers, and would compensate the businesses for their losses. “We want to do whatever we need to do to make things right,” Watton said.
Watton said the water system has been repaired, but the state Department of Public Health requires more clean samples before the water is deemed safe and the two food-related businesses can reopen. Watton said he expects that to happen tomorrow afternoon.
Ken August, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Health, said officials are investigating. “We have learned about the situation and we are evaluating it,” August said.
Recycled water is not tested as rigorously as drinking water because it is not meant to be consumed. Several shop owners expressed concerns that they or their employees could be sickened by the lingering taint of bad water.
Watton said this is the first time he has heard of recycled water being accidentally sent to a drinking tap in the county.
Reports tell of cases elsewhere, including San Antonio in 2002 and Calabasas in 1997. The San Antonio Water System recently paid $19,500 to settle a 2003 lawsuit filed by 13 people who alleged they were sickened by the treated wastewater.
Otay officials say they are still trying to figure out how the mistake occurred. Watton said when the three buildings of the business park were constructed in 2002, they apparently were connected to a purple pipe, the color that usually designates a recycled-water line, instead of a pipe with drinking water.
The business park opened in July 2005, and the water that flowed in was made up of about four parts drinking water to one part recycled water, Watton said.
In May, the Otay Water District entered into a deal with the city of San Diego to buy 6 million gallons of recycled water a day from San Diego's two reclamation plants. Otay began pumping 100 percent recycled water instead of the blend of recycled and drinking water.
That's when the merchants noticed the funky smell, look and taste. Josh Bristol, the owner of a home-decorating store, complained to Otay officials in an e-mail July 27. Watton said workers flushed the system clean and thought the problem was resolved.
Wise, who co-owns the Candy Bouquet with Angela Mason, said she contacted the business park owners a couple of weeks ago when she noticed the water's yellowish tint.
The private lab's testing showed the presence of total coliform bacteria. The bacteria is not necessarily harmful, but its presence indicates contamination. The lab warned that the sample appeared to be recycled water, and said occupants should be warned not to drink it.
Recycling water for irrigation is not the same as the long-discussed plan in San Diego to send highly treated wastewater back to taps, a program detractors have dubbed “toilet to tap.”
Although most businesses in the Eastlake park are open, the owners of the Candy Bouquet and Dream Dinners wait and worry about the damage to their reputations.
They said their customers are not at risk. Wise said her business uses only prepackaged candy. Jennifer Kober, owner of Dream Dinners, said customers are required to wear gloves when preparing food and no one drinks the tap water or uses it in food preparation. Only filtered water was used with the ingredients and in the coffee brewed there.
Wise said she fears she'll lose customers when they see the county's “closed” notice. “People don't want to know the excuses,” she said. “They just see the sign on the door.”
Staff librarian Jenna Rohrssen contributed to this report.
Has anyone else seen the recent campaign for Hyundai? It's called the Hyundai Big Duh Sales Event and it features a car floating down from space ... or being discarded from an interterrestial garbage ferry. I'm not really sure which one it is.
Maybe it's just me, but the Big Duh Sales Event slogan does nothing to motivate me to buy a Hyundai. In the spirit of Homer (Simpson, not the guy who wrote that long book a long time ago), perhaps it should be called the Hyundai Big Do Sales Event. Like ... "Did you know you just bought a Hyundai? Do!'
Every know and then I believe it's good to drop a random "thank you" on someone. Maybe it's for something you've already said thanks for. Maybe it's for something you've thought about saying thanks for but never did. At any rate, go ahead and do it!
For example, Tonya and I have been talking recently about how much we appreciated Hannah's Navajo softball coaches. So ... I just dropped a quick email this morning to say thanks. Again. We thanked them throughout the season and at the end of the season but it just felt right to say it again.
Over and over I'm surprised by how a random thank you finds its way to the recipient at a very appropriate moment. That's part of the interconnectedness we have as spiritual beings. I believe many times the Holy Spirit is prompting us to say or do something because he knows what we don't know -- what's happening in the other person's life.
So, go ahead and say "thank you" again. You just might find one floating right back to you.
Tonya and I hosted a pool party for LifePoint yesterday. We fired up the grill and had a great time. Even a few adults got in the water. Someone asked me if I was going to be the lifeguard. My response was, "You don't want me to be the lifeguard." Fortunately, I was confined to the grill and to other dry spots.
I'm about to begin week three working at shopbluehaven.com. For the most part, I've spent the first two weeks learning various aspects of the business and the ins and outs of the ecommerce software. I've not been very steeped in pool knowledge, so it's been interesting learning more about that stuff. All in all, it's a fun to place to work, even more so when the AC is below 75 :-)
Working downtown is certainly an interesting experience. All the sights, sounds, and smells of San Diego's dowtown are at my doorstep. Let's just say that some smells are better than others.
Here's a nice little article about how to prepare your swimming pool for winter. It talks about winter covers, pool chemicals, and more. All from your friends at Blue Haven Pools and Spas Supplies Direct (www.shopbluehaven.com).
read more | digg story
I'm packing my lunch for my first day at shopbluehaven.com ... any suggestions?
The family and I are taking a road trip tomorrow to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. We're going with another family and spending the night. I had the opportunity a few months ago to go with a friend and it was a great experience. The view alone is worth the price of admission.
Hannah was reading about Reagan this morning and said, "Hey Dad, Ronald Reagan was born in Illinois, just like you were. And he moved to California, just like you did. But then he became President." My response -- give me about 30 more years and I'll be ready.
This may be our last road trip for a while. On Monday, I start my new position with Blue Haven Pools as the web designer for their ecommerce division (www.shopbluehaven.com). The parent company is a big $_ _ _ million company that has been around for decades; the ecommerce division is about a year and a half old. So it has the feel of a start-up with the backing of a secure, stable company.
It's also located downtown near the Gaslamp and comes with free parking! I'm excited to lend my creative skills to what seems to be a really good company.
LifePoint goes on and is doing well. I look forward every weekend to teaching such a great group of people. The reality is we are a new church in a high cost area -- but the blessing is that we have so many talented people who contribute to our community.
In some respects, we find ourselves more aligned with the experience of the first century church. The old-school term we once used was "tentmaking." That simply meant that Paul worked a day job and preached and pastored whenever and where ever he could. The source of his income didn't matter; what mattered was that people heard about Jesus.
LifePoint continues to support CityWalk Church with ten percent of our weekly offerings. Several of our members are also helping out with Wave Christian Church, a new church starting this fall in Chula Vista. Through thick and thin, we want to remember that we are a part of a larger Kingdom movement.
I normally don't pass along other websites too often but here is one I discovered this morning. The journey began while researching videos to use at church. But in the great spirit of the internet, I stumbled upon this:
http://www.thebuddygroup.com
You must choose the Flash version to really, really enjoy it.
Thursday morning I decided to try something a little different during my morning prayer. I decided to list one hundred things that I was thankful for that day – not tomorrow or the day before, but right then. It was interesting to begin thinking about what I am grateful for and to appreciate little things that often are taken for granted. What would be on your top 100 list ... right now?
Starting in August, we will be spending the remainder of the year at LifePoint exploring the life of Jesus. One of the messages I will be teaching in August is about Jesus' mission as expressed in Luke 4:18-19. So, in the spirit of the Internet, I went in search of funny -- but true -- mission statements. Along the way, I found this:
Dilbert's Automatic Mission Statement Generator
Give it try ... you might recognize one or two.
Our daughter, Hope, is enrolled this week at a Vacation Bible School at a church that will remain anonymous. All I can say is that it is here in San Diego, it's big, and it's Baptist. And it may not take a college degree to figure out which one.
Well, we decided to purchase a t-shirt that relates to VBS. My wife happened to notice a rather unfortunate typo -- one a spell checker wouldn't catch but maybe a theological checker might have.
Here is the shirt ...
Click any of the images to view a larger image.
There are some pastoral functions that college cannot quite prepare you for. Pastoral things like turning out the lights after everyone leaves and making sure the doors are locked. I do remember a guest lecturer one day talking about his weekly schedule -- when he mowed his grass, went shopping, etc. But I tuned him out after he mentioned yard work and probably missed the part about turning out lights.
On the more "spiritual" side of the scale, four years of college did not prepare me for conducting my first funeral. That was done by my seeking out the counsel of a retired pastor who patiently walked me through the process of where to stand and what to say.
Pastors are often called upon to do funerals of people they do not know very well. I treat every occasion as an opportunity to step into a sacred moment, one that is filled with both heaven and earth. The earth-side I understand all too well; it’s heaven that I’m learning more about.
Quite honestly, it wasn’t until I was preparing my thoughts for my mom’s funeral that I really began to feel heaven. Up until that time in 1995, I believed in heaven. I could have told you about the streets paved with gold and other fine details. But it was all in my head, alongside other interesting facts gained from a lifetime of Sunday School.
But during those few days in early December, 1995, those facts travelled the distance from my head to my heart and became alive!
My hope and prayer is that the reality of heaven will come alive for you, too. Sooner rather than later!
A few weeks ago I spoke on the topic of legacy. To be honest, I never thought much about legacy until I passed 35 on my way towards 40.
The type of legacy I spoke of was not fame or fortune but in leaving behind a positive influence. St. Paul told the early Christ-followers to take care how they built their lives. He reminded them that the quality of what we're building will eventually be tested.
Too often we live our lives recklessly. We blast down the highway surrounded by a ton of metal, weaving in and out of lanes. We treat significant relationships like ordinary socks.
I've spent more time lately thinking about what I'm leaving behind. Jobs aren't just about paychecks but about influence and impact. I want my children to know that I used my God-inspired abilities to manifest good things.
Perhaps it's as simple as beginning with the end in mind. Call it living on purpose or with intention.
Have you thought about your legacy?
As some of you may know, I've been seeking full-time employment for a little while. It looks like I have a pending job offer! I'll share more once the offer is finalized. Of the places I interviewed, this was my top choice. It's a reasonable commute and a job that will keep me intellectualy curious.
Stay tuned ...
Coming soon to Chula Vista ... Wave Christian Church. Jim and Carla Osbourne will be starting a new church in Chula Vista this fall. Jim has been our utility guitar player at LifePoint for almost a year and was attending even before that. I've known Jim since 1991, back when Tonya and I took our first ministry job here in San Diego.
Jim is excited about starting a new church in the town where he was born and raised. Wave is holding their first preview service this morning and is looking to begin full-time services in the fall.
It's exciting to see churches like LifePoint, Wave, and CityWalk spring up in various spots around San Diego. CityWalk is the new church that meets in downtown San Diego. Although that's a good start, there is still so much more opportunity that exists.
Last night I took Hannah over to Cosmos Cafe for a little music. It turned out to be a folk singer by the name of Jim Hinton. He was an interesting cat and we both enjoyed his music, though I probably did more than Hannah. Part of what made it interesting is that I have a pastor friend by the name of Jim Hinton ... who also works in La Mesa. Hannah asked me," Is that Pastor Jim Hinton from the La Mesa church?"
So this has led me on a Google search to show you contrasting photos. Please excuse the delay in typing this because I'm on the hunt ...
Here are the findings. See if you can figure out who is who.
They’ve recently created a new feature called "Wacky Videos" and it features strange-but-true videos. Last week they featured a dog that skateboarded and did jumps on a ramp. But by far, my favorites have been clips of Japanese game shows.
Of these, one in particular stands out. It was called "Human Tetris." Tetris holds a fond place in my heart because it was one of the first computer games I ever had that was in color! Tetris is played by aligning different shapes into a pattern has they fall from the top of the screen.
In "Human Tetris," contestants have different cut-out shapes sliding towards them and they must fit their bodies through the shapes. If it’s ‘L’ shaped, then they must form an ‘L’ and try to fit through. Most of them ended up getting whacked!
In a sense, that’s how it is with the spiritual life. We do not create God’s movement as much as we recognize what he is doing. And then it is our task to align ourselves with the direction God is going. And when we get out of alignment, we often get whacked.
My prayer is that each of us will find the right alignment and experience God’s power in us.
For the first time, Hannah and Hope are teammates on the same softball team. They played their first game together at the Twin Hills league. Hannah played second and batted second; Hope played various outfield spots. It was special seeing them play on the same team. Both of them are very athletic and seem to enjoy softball. I'll post a few pictures in the near future.
While Hannah was away at camp, we were given free tickets to the Padres game. These are perhaps the best seats we've ever had. They are right next to the field, with only the wall separating you from the field. The opposing team's bullpen (in this case, the Marlins) is less than 20 feet away. Here are a few pics I snapped throughout the game.
Growing up with a father who worked at Caterpillar Tractors, our family vacation schedule was set by the company. It wasn’t until I was in junior high or high school that I realized summer vacation wasn’t called "Cat vacation." Entire plants would shut down for weeks at a time as the employees went on vacation.
Cat vacation affected everything in and around Peoria. Businesses would experience slow downs and our church would have a combined Wednesday night Bible class in the auditorium, instead of the normal age-graded classes.
Part of our family ritual every summer was to pack the car -- either a Bonneville or Impala, depending on the summer -- and head for southwest Missouri. By the time I was born I had only one living grandparent, my grandmother Grace. This meant that we would spend at least one week visiting my dad’s mom and his family who still lived in West Plaines.
The town was typical small town: courthouse on the square and blue plate specials at the diner. It even had a pool hall but I was expressly forbidden from going in.
One of my favorite vacation memories was when we opted to go to Syracuse, New York, to see my Aunt Golden. We roamed the Adirondack mountains and even went to Niagara Falls. Somewhere in a scrapbook is a picture of me standing in front of the falls, long hair and no glasses.
The best vacations provide a time for restoration, adventure, and learning. They also create the memories that become a key part of our life stories. I hope as we look at faith destinations this month that you will find the same to be true in your spiritual life.
It's been an interesting week. On the job front, still no breathroughs with job interviews but the resumes are still going out. But I may have a few freelancing opportunities. On the same day, I met with two different guys who are looking for a web designer to outsource to their clients. It may produce a little work and possibly a lot of work. It may also provide me the necessary flexibility to do other stuff.
On Friday I went to one of these business networking meetings. It was more structured than some I have been to. The idea is to generate leads and tips for other members.
And on Friday I also started to come down with a cold -- the runny nose, coughing, type of cold. The weather is just too nice to have this stuff!
For the past ten years, I have been privileged to serve as the Director of Spiritual Development for Opportunity Camp. Opportunity Camp is a camp that serves kids who live in foster and group homes. This year was another great year! Below are a few snapshots of the week ...
... or "table tennis" as the sophisticated like to call it. After meeting Adrian Gonzalez and taking a three hour tour of the outlets in San Ysridro, we went to Balboa Park where the Southern California Table Tennis Tournament was being held. It was incredible! It was inside the Activities Building and had three long rows of ping pong tables. Men, women, children, young, old, and even a guy in a wheelchair were playing!
It took me back to my days when I worked in the student activities center in college. As part of my work study program, I would operate the activities center for a few hours each day. This usually allowed me ample time to play a few games of ping pong. There were several of us guys who were pretty hardcore ping pongers -- nothing quite like the level I saw today but not too shabby either.
Some of my best ping pong memories are from playing the Miller brothers, these two guys with incredible wingspans. Then there was Wasim, who would sit back and wail on the ball. There were several others ... all of us ping pong warriors.
But the people I saw today were on another level altogether. They had carrying bags for their rackets, special shoes and shirts, and coaches. It's made me think of getting a new paddle and hitting the gym. Stay tuned ...
OK, most of you are probably saying, "Adrian who?" That's understandable unless A) you like baseball and B) you live in San Diego. Adrian is the first baseman for the San Diego Padres and was born and raised in Chula Vista. I noticed in the the San Diego Reader that he would be signing autographs for two hours today. Hannah and Hope were excited to shake his hand and get his autograph; they even left with an autographed picture. Here are a few I shot myself ...
Back during our days in Georgia I was privileged to serve as the campaign manager for State Senator John Douglas. He had previously served in the Georgia House of Representatives; I managed his first campaign for the State Senate. We won ... in large part because John is one of the hardest working politicians I know (not that I know too many).
He recently came to Anaheim as part of delegation from the City of Covington. On Thursday I drove up to LA and we then drove together to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. It's located high on a hill in Simi Valley. It's really quite a remarkable location -- fitting for a president who referred to America as the "shining city on a hill."
I've included a few pictures for those of you who are more visually inclined :-)
