I know that the end of July isn't really the end of summer, but this year it is at our house.Today, my girl makes her way back to college for the fall semester. Training for her new on-campus job starts on Wednesday, followed by training for the people she'll be supervising and other campus student workers. Then come the new freshmen with their orientation and finally classes. It makes the summer seem pretty short.She is looking forward to having an on campus apartment as a part of her work compensation and at least one of us is happy that she's...
Monday, 30 July 2012
Saturday, 28 July 2012
If studying the Bible is meant to bring us closer to God, the downside is the realization of just how far away from Him we are to begin with.As I begin to prepare materials to share with others about sharing our faith, the questions that comes to mind are: Why is this an issue? and Why aren't professing believers sharing their faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus?I believe the reality is that we have failed to identify ourselves with Jesus. We say we are Christians but that has just become a word and doesn't really say much about who we are. Actually,...
Friday, 27 July 2012
There are a lot of boycott lists out there. I was going to list companies that are currently being boycotted by somebody, but found that there are really just too many.Some are being boycotted because of their conservative stance on social issues, while others are being boycotted because of their liberal contributions to organizations that have a liberal stance on the same issues. Some are pro-labor. Some are anti-labor. Some organizations are boycotted, some countries are boycotted.As a fan of etymology (study of word origins), I feel compelled...
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
For those of you (all two of you) that have been reading Out of My Hat since the beginning, today is the six year blogoversary of publishing at Out of My Hat! Happy Blogoversary!I was recently scanning past posts and have noticed that the more controversial posts receive far more hits (and a few more comments) than other posts. Religious posts get a fair amount of hits and few comments. I haven't done any "Favorite bible stories," "funny stuff" or "What I like about..." posts lately (and probably need to).I know that the demographics of readership...
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
Okay, I'm weighing in on this one...But only because I really don't understand what all of the fuss is about.At the risk of offending my more liberal friends, I have to wonder, "What were you thinking?"Did this information of how the corporate leadership feels about "the sanctity of marriage" issue catch you by surprise?Why the sudden outrage?If you are unfamiliar with the hubabub, Here's an article about the interview that was picked up by CNN and thus began the outrage. If you don't want to read the whole article, here's the part (at the very...
Monday, 23 July 2012
Sitting here this morning with several ideas to write about but wondering if any of them is really blog worthy.Somewhere in the past, I remember advice from a writer's meeting -- Write. Just write. So this morning's post may not be worth your time, just an exercise in rambling.We spent yesterday on the lake with friends. Hannah was struggling to learn to water ski. I remember the first time I attempted to water ski. The water beat me up badly. Hannah finally got up on her skis for a couple of short lived rides. She'll be sore today from the exertion...
Saturday, 21 July 2012
I'm planning on spending the day in the basement. It's time to really get to work on putting the "Man Cave" in order. Some time ago, I started to convert Aaron's old room into my room but I haven't really put any consistent effort into finishing it.It's time.Putting the "cave" into order also means getting the rest of the basement in order since some things will be in the main area of the basement instead of the "man" area of the basement--a kind of man cave overflow. For example, the man cave will primarily be a place for my magic stuff and to...
Friday, 20 July 2012
Thursday, 19 July 2012
I was trying to remember what it was like when the evening news was brought by personalities like Walter Cronkite, Chet Huntley or David Brinkley? You know, back when people trusted the news anchors. With today's broadcast journalism being more about getting the lion's share of the audience (and associated advertising dollars) than about reporting news, what is presented as news is mostly spin about otherwise less than newsworthy items.I'm really not wanting this to be a political post, but since politics is driving the news it is difficult to...
Wednesday, 18 July 2012
One of the communities that we (Chris and I) visited over the weekend was the little town of Jamesport MO.It's a small town with a relatively large Amish population (both in town and the surrounding rural area). Horse drawn buggies are common on the highways in the area. The town is a small tourist attraction that boasts some unique shops and restaurants run by the Amish people of the community.Not all of the town is Amish and there are several different churches in the community including Jamesport Baptist Church where I was on Sunday evening....
Monday, 16 July 2012
This morning I am writing from the home of Ted and Esther Druckenmiller. The Druckenmillers have housed us in their home over the weekend. This octogenarian couple makes a ministry of opening their home to many who labor in the work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Although this is my second visit to their home, it is a first for Chris.Ted and Esther have been blessed with a wonderful life, full of international experiences to share with their guests. We have greatly enjoyed our time with them, sharing stories and life experiences. They are not bound...
Friday, 13 July 2012
From time to time I check the stats on my blog to see if anybody actually reads this drivel that I write. Lately, the number of readers that stop by has dropped to the faithful few that either feel a mutual obligation (I read their blogs so they read mine), or those that haven't taken the time to drop me from their subscription lists.These days, I post links to my blog on Facebook, Google+, Twitter and LinkedIn, but since I run pretty much the same circle of friends on each, I doubt that there is much of an impact on overall hits.So I am wondering...
Thursday, 12 July 2012
This weekend will make the third trip this summer to the Grand Oaks campground just outside of Chillicothe MO. I'll be there to help kick off the Harrison-NGR Associations' Children's camp for 2012. I was privileged to be there for their youth camp at the beginning of June and also for the week of the Linn-Livingston Association Youth Camp at the end of June. I'm looking forward to being there again this coming week. All-in-all, this will be my fourth camp of the summer.In addition to Monday night's program at the camp, I'll be at Union Baptist,...
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Recently, a writer friend of mine posted a picture on Facebook with an encouragement for people to write a one paragraph story based on the picture. There were some great stories.My friend, Tom Blubaugh, is the author of Night of the Cossack as well as several other devotions and Bible studies. (You can read my interview of Tom and his publisher here.) I would imagine that he has more writer friends than I do, but I know that many of my readers...
Saturday, 7 July 2012
It's Saturday night, a full week after my week long youth camp. I've spent the week fighting a cold-turned-to-sinus-infection without a lot of success. The week has been one of the hottest ever in the Ozarks and I am very thankful for a working air conditioner. All-in-all, I've got a pretty good life.At camp last week, I mentioned about the very positive effect that five consecutive days of dynamic corporate worship has on one's spiritual life. Is there a way to get that same spiritual high without the daily corporate worship? If there...
Yesterday we buried our old friend, Miss Priss.Priss was a Missouri Foxtrotter of championship bloodlines and a great horse.Although it was Chris that took the riding lessons and made the decision to purchase her, it was Hannah that really took over ownership of her. I don't think there was any doubt in the mind of Miss Priss about who her owner was. As Hannah got busy with high school and then moved on to college, primary care fell to me.For the...
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
Funny, the things you can learn from kids...I'm still thinking about the camp that I was at last week; 108 teenagers and about 108 degree temps. Having been a part of a few summer camps, I'll take the heat over rainy or stormy days every time. Most camps today have plenty of air conditioned buildings (not like the old days when I went to camp!) and there is always the pool or a lake to cool off in. But some of the things that this particular group...
A couple of months ago, we visited the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield IL. As you might expect, much of the library focused on the Civil War. As I looked at the maps that showed the blue states and the gray states, I couldn't help but think of today's political maps that separate the country into red states and blue states.We may not be a country that is on the verge of another civil war, but we are a country that is becoming more polarized and less civil. I think that it is time for "we the people" to recognize that we are...
Tuesday, 3 July 2012
Wow! Talk about your oxymoron. Most of the time you can't get a preacher to stop preaching. How rare is it that you can find one that doesn't even get started?Last week I found myself in the awkward position of getting ready for an evening service at a youth camp but feeling led away from the message that I had prepared for the evening. It was the first full day of camp and I found the morning break out sessions to be very challenging. As a matter of fact, it was extremely unfortunate that there wasn't time in each of them to respond to the lessons...
I know, I know.I've covered my feelings on religion and politics in the past, posted my personal biases (never without opposition push-back and fallout), and swore that I would never do it again ... until the next time.Apparently the next time is here.I'm glad that I was at youth camp last week when the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) announced its ruling on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). With any massive overhaul, there is bound to be opposition. Rarely has it been the total opposition that political parties...
Sunday, 1 July 2012
It's weird how something as simple as introducing an artificial light source can mess up the simple navigation system of a moth. If you stop to think that some insects use the bright distant light of the sun or moon as reference points for navigation and can fly a relatively straight line by doing so, it becomes easier to see that a close light source like a light bulb or flame might cause the same insect to spiral inward to its demise.Unfortunately,...
It's July. It's hot and dry in the Midwest.And I have managed to come down with a summer cold...I don't think that it's allergies since the posted numbers for pollens are low in every category. It's been so dry that I don't think that molds are the problem. Whatever it is, I'm just glad that it wasn't with me last week at youth camp!Speaking of youth camp, I may as well start my July posting quest by talking a little about the week I had at...
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