Out of My Hat

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Monday, 26 August 2013

Tell Your Story

Posted on 07:24 by Unknown
In reading through the Gospels,, we find stories of a people that had unusual encounters with Jesus. They were unusual in that Jesus was able to do what no one had ever done before. He healed lepers of their dreaded disease. He caused the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the mute to speak and the crippled to walk. He even caused the dead to come back to life!

Pretty incredible stuff!

The people that were touched by His miraculous ministry couldn't help but tell others about it. The crowds followed after him seeking more great signs and to listen to his teaching; to see for themselves if this was the expected Messiah.

As one who has had a spiritual encounter with Jesus, shouldn't I (and you, too, if you have had such an encounter) be telling my story? I know that not everybody has a fantastic "saved from the gutters of life" kind of story. Thankfully, most of us don't have a "prison salvation" or near death kind of salvation story. You may even think that you have a boring story.

How can an encounter with the God of the universe be boring?

Perhaps we've become too familiar with our God. I am so thankful that He allows us this wonderful relationship that the sons and daughters of God can come before Him as...well, as sons and daughters. We don't have to wait while the masses vie for His attention; we can walk right to the front of the line and speak with our Heavenly Father. We are the adopted brothers of His Son, Jesus.

It's a pretty big deal!

Even if your grew up in a home that knew Jesus; even if you first encountered Him at a young age--you have a story to tell. And our stories must go beyond that first encounter. What of the daily encounters with Our Lord and Savior. Have these become so common that we no longer value them? Have we taken for granted that we are lost and condemned without Him? Have we forgotten that spiritually speaking, we all have "saved from the gutter" stories? Have we become so puffed up with ourselves that we think that we deserve a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus?

If it's been a while since you've shared your story, share it with somebody--today!

You can use me as an excuse if you need one. Just say, "A blog I read was encouraging believers to share their conversion stories. I really haven't done that in a while. Can I practice on you?"

When you've finished (keep it brief if you can), you might ask them to share their story. If they don't have a story, you may have an opportunity to tell them about God's great love and how He desires to have a personal relationship with them through Jesus!

Knowing Jesus is a big deal!
Tell your story.

John <><
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Saturday, 24 August 2013

Thoughts on Community

Posted on 09:27 by Unknown
This weekend is little bit less active than the past few have been. Chris is working today (one of those few Saturdays that she gets scheduled to work) and I'm hoping that she can get an early shove.

I did manage a quick trip into the farmer's market in Springfield, a fill up on the del Sol (39.9 mpg) and a few errands. Now to spend some time finishing tomorrow's sermon notes.

It's been a little while since I've been to Charity Baptist is Springfield. I'm looking forward to being there again, although it does mean that I'll miss the concert at Hopedale tomorrow night.

This past week seems to have flown by. I guess that's a good thing. One of the things that I'm realizing is that I have a very small community of people in my life. I'm not sure that I can call the people that I work with a part of my community. Sure we are co-workers and serve a common purpose for a few hours each day, but I really have nothing else in common with them. They are not a vital part of my life (the job--well, the pay is) and I am not a vital part of their lives. I actually fell a greater "community" sense with a pastor that I just met than with the people I have worked with for years.

Is it that the shared ministry is more important to me than the shared mission of separating airplanes? Is there a greater sense of brotherhood with a fellow laborer in ministry than with other air traffic controllers? Although I get along with my co-workers, I can't say that I really look forward to seeing them everyday. For the most part, they are just a part of the job. That is not the case when it comes to ministry work.

Strangely enough, church life and work life share a lot of similarities. While I love my church and enjoy going there to worship and serve, in many ways the social atmosphere isn't very different from work. I'm not sure that I can call the people at church a part of my community. Other than sharing a few hours a week, I really have very little in common with most of them. They are not a vital part of my life and I am not a vital part of their lives.

I'm really not sure where this rant is going. I just started writing and this is what has turned up on the page. In rereading what I've written, one might get the idea that I feel lonely in ministry or am dissatisfied with work, church or life in general. Neither is really true. Perhaps it is just a realization that I know very little about the people that I come in contact with every day. Maybe I need to find a way to expand my "community" by being better about connecting with people outside of the areas that define our relationships. Maybe my life is too segregated--work is work, church is church, family is family, etc.

Is that what we've become as a society? Are we different pieces of different puzzles as we wander through the week and find ourselves in different places and different roles? Is it okay that I see you everyday and know nothing about you? Do I care if you you know anything about me? Have we become so narcissistic that other people just don't matter?

I'm going to have to think on this some more. Any thoughts...?

John <><






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Monday, 19 August 2013

Weekend Thoughts

Posted on 08:03 by Unknown
It's nice to be able to sit on the deck with my coffee and computer and reminisce about the weekend. I really enjoyed my return to Zion Baptist Church (ZBC) in Cainsville MO. We were trying to figure out how long it had been since my last visit; I was thinking around eight years. One of the members said that he knew exactly how long it had been because I visited his wife in the hospital after the birth of their little girl--she is 6.

Although this was only my third trip to ZBC, it really does feel like a sort of homecoming. It is a small congregation with a huge heart for serving the community in the name of Jesus. I really love their pastor. He is a simple, hard working man that runs his business and pastors a rural church. He loves his Lord, loves his flock and loves serving others. Not surprisingly, the church has taken on the heart attitudes of loving God, loving each other and serving the community.

It's a pretty sweet fellowship.

There are so many thoughts running through my head this morning about the weekend that it is very hard to organize them into any orderly post. I think I'm going to just write them out in bullet form and expound on them as the thoughts come to mind.

*This was the thirteenth year of the Zion Gospel Jubilee.
Several music groups from the area (and some individuals) come to sing on an outdoor stage under a big tent. The event normally begins around 1pm on Saturday and lasted until around 10:30 at night with a break for an awesome dinner. (They smoked about 200 pounds of beef brisket and pork butts.) Sunday morning had an outdoor service under the tent followed by lunch and more music. This year, they added the Friday night session with music and magic--my part in the weekend. I also shared twice on Saturday (once in the afternoon, once in the evening) and preached the message on Sunday morning.

*The groups that come to sing look forward to this event.
This year's groups had all been to the Jubilee before. The event is well advertised and people come from some distance to enjoy the music. There was great talent singing praise to our God.

*Life isn't always what we've bargained for.
When you get in a mix of God's people, you find that there are a lot of suffering Christians. It's a myth that those that follow Jesus have great lives. We do have eternal life, but often times our earthly journey can be difficult and lonely. There were times that my heart hurt for the stories of struggle that were shared.

*We are family.
One of the things that always amazes me is the instant bond of fellowship with believers from another congregation. At a family reunion, you can often tell that the people there are apart of your family clan by certain physical characteristics. When meeting with fellow followers of Jesus, there are also characteristics that lead you to believe that we are of the same family.

*Other contacts.
I also had the opportunity to visit with some old friends that lived in the area (by in the area, I mean about 40 minutes away). I enjoyed getting to visit with them in their home and also saw a few other people that I have shared ministry with in the past.

*Blessings of service.
I'll be on a bit of a high for a few days. The blessings of service are grand. I know that this weekend will carry me into the week with a grand feeling and positive attitude. I have another program tomorrow night and am preaching on Sunday in Springfield. It sounds really busy and like I'm doing a lot of work, but the truth is that it's too much fun to be considered work.

*Random thought--
If it turns out that I'm going to keep the del Sol much longer, I'm going to have to put some work into it to make it more serviceable and more comfortable for long trips.

*Final thought (for now)--
There are a lot of hurting people out there. Some suffer in silence and in secret while others are more open about their pain. They need a bit of encouragement and love today. If you know of somebody that is carrying a burden, lend them a hand today. Call them. Offer them a time of rest or a moment that they can set aside their troubles and enjoy a short time of peace with a friend.
For those that suffer in silence, take care to be kind to everybody you encounter. Be a positive influence at work or school. Be kind and courteous to strangers. Smile often. Speak words of encouragement. Show the love of God in all you do.

God loves you.
Jesus died for you.

John <><



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Friday, 16 August 2013

Just random notes...

Posted on 06:57 by Unknown
It's a rare Friday morning that I get to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee. On most Fridays, I'm just getting off of work after a mid shift and ready to take a 3+ hour snooze. I used a day of leave and didn't work the mid last night. After a day of moving Hannah back to Columbia for her senior year of college and with travel for a weekend event ahead of me, I figured a good night's sleep was in order.

So now I am getting ready to get things going for the day and really don't have the time to be on the blog and sitting with my coffee, but...

Sometimes it's good to slow down--even if only for a few minutes.

I'll be spending a good portion of the next couple of days on the highway and won't have the time to read the posts that I normally follow, keep up on Facebook, Twitter or other social media sites and may have some limited cell coverage--all a part of travelling in rural Missouri.

Enjoy your weekend, friends! I'll catch up with you next week.

John <><
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Wednesday, 14 August 2013

Livin' the Good Life

Posted on 23:02 by Unknown
I have a pretty good  great life.
You probably have a pretty good life, too; maybe even a great life.

However, I have found that I can take my great life and turn it into a crappy life by changing nothing more than my outlook. I don't have to give up any of the things that make my life grand. I don't have to work at a harder job, nor do I have to lose the job that I have. I don't have to give up my health (which isn't perfect but free from anything major) and I don't have to worry about a daily food provision--as a matter of fact, I still get to eat some pretty tasty (if not so healthy) foods pretty much as I choose.

I get to keep my modest home and my beater car. I get to keep all of my friends (both of you guys) and I still get to enjoy a great family.

All I have to do to turn my otherwise great life into something that is unbearable and crappy is to start thinking about all of the things that I don't have (whether or not I need or want them) and all of the things that others have (again, whether or not I want, need or have earned them) and all of a sudden, I am burdened with life's woes and am a miserable person to be around.

I can complain about the government and how "the Man" is oppressing me. I can complain about my job and how management doesn't care about my needs. I can complain about my weight and my health as I shovel in another fast food burger or junk food snack. I can complain about pretty much anything I feel like as long as I can think of a way that my own little world would be better if I had or didn't have whatever it is that would make life better.

I can envy those that have larger, fancier homes even though they may have worked very hard to acquire their wealth. I can complain about the young people that drive nicer vehicles even though I've chosen to drive the no car payment beater.

I can complain about my neighbors or the people that I work with that care more about themselves and their needs than they do about me and my needs--in my world, it's okay if it's all about me.

I hope you get the idea.

We can choose to be negative.
We can choose to ignore our blessings and find fault with every situation.
We can choose to be miserable.
We can choose to be victims of a cruel world.
We can choose to have a crappy life.

Or not.

We can also choose to acknowledge our blessings.
We can choose to value the people around us.
We can choose to appreciate our freedoms.
We can choose to be positive.
We can choose to be a blessing to others.

We can decide that in spite of whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, we will be grateful for the people and the things that we have.

I hope that today is a good great day for you.
I hope that somebody offers you a word of encouragement today.
I hope that you will choose to be a blessing to somebody today.

A smile
A kind word
A kind act
It could be enough to change somebody's day--to change somebody's life.

Blessings to you,
John <><


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Monday, 12 August 2013

Trust Issues...

Posted on 11:56 by Unknown
Most of you have heard of or experienced the "trust fall" where one person falls backwards, trusting another person or persons to catch them. We did a few different exercises to demonstrate trust this past weekend at our youth retreat.

It got me thinking about trust--Who we trust? Why we trust? What does it take to earn our trust? Am I trustworthy?

On the surface, most of us would say that it's better to trust an honest person or one that always does the right thing: but is that really the case?

What if somebody does something that is wrong--anything from spreading gossip to taking something that doesn't belong to them? Do they really trust an honest person or somebody that always does the right thing to keep their misdeed a secret? Wouldn't they be more likely to trust somebody that has the same values (or lack of them) as they have?

I suppose there are many different levels of trust as well as different areas of trust. I may trust a coworker to have my back in a difficult session of air traffic control, but not really trust them in other areas of life. A person might trust another person to be honest about fixing their car but not feel like they would leave them to care for their children. Things like these are based on experiences and knowledge of situations as well as people.

So how does somebody earn your trust?
By keeping their mouth shut?
Or by telling the truth?
By doing what's right?
Or by doing what you need them to do?

Is an honest person really the kind of person that you want to trust?
Or would you rather trust a person that has pretty much the same level of dishonesty as you have?

Is there honor among thieves? Do we count on the bad deeds of others to keep them silent about our own bad deeds?

Are these really the kinds of things that we want to base our "trust" of others upon and are those really the kinds of people that we want to trust?

Hmmm...

Just thinking.

John <><
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Tuesday, 6 August 2013

Tell Your Story

Posted on 09:03 by Unknown
Last Sunday, I once again issued the challenge to tell somebody that needs to know Jesus as Savior that God loves them and Jesus died for them.

Sometimes the conversations can take different turns. When you begin to talk about your own personal relationship with Jesus, you also find out about other people's personal relationship with Jesus. I like this. It helps me to get to know my brothers and sisters in Jesus and it helps all of us to get more comfortable in telling our story.

Have you told your story lately?

It is your story.

Not every story has to be a "saved from a life of drugs" kind of testimony. There should be no shame in telling your ordinary "grew up in a church family" story. You should be proud to share your blessing of having grown up in a family that was dedicated to following Jesus and sharing their faith with their kids of grand-kids. It is a great story.

But the story doesn't stop there. It begins there. What is Jesus doing for you now? How is He working in your life and in your family's life today? It is still your story; you're still living it; and you should still be telling it.

God loves you.
Jesus died for you.

Tell your story.

John <><
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Sunday, 4 August 2013

Quiet Homes and Dysfunctional Families

Posted on 20:41 by Unknown
Have you ever had that experience of family coming to visit--it could be grown kids coming home, parents coming to visit, siblings or other relatives--and then experiencing the quiet and almost lonely feeling when they are gone?

I'm talking about people that you really love and really miss and really don't want them to go--or you don't want to have to go.

I realize that there are families that don't get along. Families that rarely, if ever, keep in touch with one another. When they do call or visit, it's more out of a sense of guilt or obligation than out of love for one another.

I wonder if that's how God feels on Monday mornings. The kids have all gone about their own busy lives and won't be back again until next week--makes for a kind of lonely and quiet week. They may gather together once or twice during the week, but they don't really plan on including Him in their mid-week get-togethers. There will be no conversations during the week--unless we need something. We'll drop by on the weekend because we're expected to; not because it's what we really want to do. There are other things--more important things--that we would rather be doing. Things like being with our kids for sporting activities or a day at the lake. Surely God would understand our need for family time, right? Maybe we'll just skip our visit for this week...and maybe for next week, too. After all, what's the big deal with going to church? Isn't God everywhere?

The problem is that we don't acknowledge God everywhere. In fact, we pretty much ignore Him everywhere. He's like an old parent that is troublesome to acknowledge before our friends. We would rather that they didn't know that we belong to Him.

Weird thoughts, I know.
Just wondering...

John <><


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Saturday, 3 August 2013

Walking the Walk

Posted on 08:32 by Unknown
As a follower of Jesus, how does your walk draw people to Jesus? Do the things that you (we) do and say help or hurt the advancement of the kingdom?

Shouldn't the belief of a Christian (that salvation is in Jesus Christ alone) compel us to share the gospel with urgency? Shouldn't a follower of Jesus be a student of the things that He teaches in The Word? Didn't Jesus say that we can know a tree by its fruit?

Just things running through my mind this morning...

John <><
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Friday, 2 August 2013

Self Assessment: It's not all it's cracked up to be

Posted on 13:48 by Unknown
I spent some time reading some of my past posts the other day. It started as a project of finding some past information that I've posted and ran into a hour or more of just enjoying some of my past reads. In one post from last month I linked to four previous posts that are about me. In re-reading them, I noticed that I'm a pretty good guy. Feel free to go read them. There is a lot of good stuff there. There is also plenty of stuff missing.

Truthfully, I'm not all that grand. We seldom come clean about our dark tendencies in self evaluation. If given an anonymous opportunity to point out my faults, I'm pretty certain my friends and family could come up with a list that would be long. If not long, at least emphatic about the negative traits on a shorter list.

It's not too difficult to be a nice guy at church. There is a certain expectation that people at church be...well, nice. And since we're only around church people for a couple of hours per week, how hard is it to throw on a fake "nice" persona for a couple of hours? Piece of cake, right?

What about work? Work is a little bit different in that some people appear to want to be jerks at work. I'd say that it's a pretty easy environment to be a jerk and a not so easy environment to be a nice person if being nice is still an act. It's more difficult to be nice because there are people that are not nice. At church, at least everyone is either nice or pretending to be nice. At work, there is more of the survival of the fittest, dog eat dog mentality that gives us permission to act without regard to others. Some meanness is in response to a previous act of meanness and will, of course, demand an additional mean response until everybody acknowledges mutual hatred for one another and agrees to live in relatively peaceful hatred with only an occasional jerk action to remind everybody that the contempt still exists.

Yeah, sometimes it reminds me of kids on the playground where bullies get away with bullying because everybody knows that nobody is going to do anything.  In any case, our work personas can be our work personas and they don't necessarily mean that we are like that outside of the work place. If it's an act, it does require us to be a better actor than the church actor because we're at work more than we are at church. Our work personality is probably a better indicator of who we really are than our church personality.

Not too long ago, a co-worker said that I was a nice person. The truth is that I have to work very hard at just not being a jerk. Of course, the comment came from one of the "nice" people and nice people are easier to be nice to and more forgiving when you are not.

I think there are a lot of bad actors out there--both at church and at work. It may be that I am one of them. It's pretty easy to write a post that inflates good qualities and claim them as the real you for readers that don't really know you and never interact with you outside of the blogosphere. It's not too difficult to fool a few people for a few hours a week at church. It's certainly possible to shield coworkers from your true personality and keep them outside of your life away from the work place. It's pretty impossible to fool the people that you live with.

Unfortunately, the people we love the most are also the people that get to see our ugliness the most. If there were ever people that could testify to the poor qualities of character that are mine, it would be my family. Sorry, guys. I'm still a jerk--working on it, but still a jerk.

Maybe it would be easier if everybody just realized it. Most people are self-centered jerks. Most people really don't care about our lives and only pretend to be interested in our stories about our kids/family/hobbies/whatever, so that they can tell you about there meaningless lives--which you probably don't care about, either.

Are there really people that are "nice people" in the world?
Yes! I believe there are.
And I believe that I know many genuinely nice people.
I believe there are also a great number of people that really want to be nice people--people (like me) that have to work very hard at not being a jerk all of the time.

I think that these are the people that make me smile. Maybe it's because there is a sort of kinship with them. Maybe knowing their struggle makes it easier to forgive their transgressions. Maybe seeing their "niceness" gives me hope that the good guys are holding their own in a world full of jerks that are waiting to help them fail and then laugh as they struggle to regain lost ground.

These are my people. We are jerks, but we don't like it. We are working on being nicer people. Please have patience with us. I realize that we don't deserve your patience and we haven't cut you any breaks in the past. But remember, you're better that we are. You are the nice people.

Recovering jerk, apprentice "nice" guy,
John <><
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Thursday, 1 August 2013

Walk a Mile...

Posted on 02:26 by Unknown
Given that I've been working on getting a little bit of exercise lately (and I want to emphasize the little bit part of that), one might think that this is going to be a post about the health benefits of walking...
...it's not.

It's a post about the adage of not criticizing somebody until you have walked a mile in their shoes.

Perhaps it's age, or perhaps it's being more aware of people around me that are finding themselves in situations that they once criticized others for being in. In any case, I seem to have encountered several recent instances of people having eye-opening experiences that have helped them to see people in a different light and to help me see people differently, as well.

I saw this picture posted on Facebook recently:



I think there are some good rules here--numbers 2 and 4 really jump out for me.

2) What others think of you is none of your business.

I don't buy into that completely, but I do understand that I don't need to be obsessed by what others think of me. Often, their thoughts are more about how I fit into their experiences than about what I might actually be experiencing. Number 4 turns it around and reminds me that I may not have the information to make an accurate judgment of somebody else.

4) Don't compare your life to others, and don't judge them. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

I hear a lot about people that are receiving some kind of social assistance--welfare, unemployment, disability payments, WIC--you get the idea. Often times, such recipients are looked down upon or thought to be too lazy to take care of themselves. Many times they appear to be able bodied persons and so we think that maybe they just don't want to work or are too lazy to find a job.

I do not doubt that there are wide abuses in programs that are designed to help people that are in need. But it is also true that there are real needs. There really are people that are terribly under-employed or are working without much needed health benefits. There really are people that have lost their jobs (through no fault of their own) and find themselves desperately needing help to feed their families. There really are people that appear to be perfectly healthy but are suffering from chronic pain or are unable to concentrate or use extremities because of an injury or illness.

And there really is such a negative stigma attached to getting help that the people in need are often humiliated and made to feel like second class citizens when they apply for the assistance.

If a person that we know to be on welfare or disability has a nice phone, expensive camera, nice clothes, nice car, whatever; it's not okay for us to make negative assumptions about their character. They could be gifts. They could be possessions from before a life changing event. They could be from a settlement that came from an injuring party. The thing is--we don't know.

In churches, we might look down on somebody that has been divorced. We don't know if it was an abusive relationship. We don't know if a spouse was unfaithful. We don't know if every effort was made to save the marriage. We just know that somebody is divorced and that must mean--well, it must mean something! Right?

What about an unmarried single parent? Now that's a situation that we can make a judgment on, right?
No. It's not.

Rather than continuing to go on ranting, let me just say that I think these are some good rules to follow.
Here's a quote I like that is attributed to several different people:
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

John <><



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Tuesday, 30 July 2013

Happy Families

Posted on 07:31 by Unknown
"All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."  --Leo Tolstoy Anna Karenina

John <><
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Monday, 29 July 2013

Family Matters--a continuation...

Posted on 08:16 by Unknown
It was a really good weekend!
Other than the initial drive of about eight hours in various states of rainy weather, it was a grand weekend of seeing the whole family! We got things started with a casual get together on Friday night.

One of the newest members to join our group is expecting the first great-grandchild in the Jerry and Leticia family. Naturally, somebody came up with the idea of a surprise baby shower! After eating sandwiches, chips, fruit and what-not, we gathered together and put Justin and Tiffany on the spot! I think that Justin was a bit surprised by the event. Tiffany, on the other hand, was a little more than shocked! It seemed that there were a couple of moments when she was struggling not to get emotional. Who wants to start crying in front of a bunch of people that you've just met?

I don't know what kind of family background Tiffany has, but I know that in this family, she is going to be loved on, teased, made fun of, protected, defended and made to feel welcome and a part of something that ought to define family.

In addition to Tiffany, Justin's older brother Jason introduced us to his fiancee, Jess, and my brother Steve brought his girlfriend, Michelle. I think that Michelle had managed to meet much of the family already, but a first for being with the whole gang of us.

I was thinking of how overwhelming such an encounter might be.

On the other hand, with such a large and diverse group of people, it would be difficult not to connect with somebody that has a similar job, hobby or other interest. Whether you own your own business, work for the government, serve in the military, work retail, health service, labor sector, banking, engineering, computers or a host of other occupations--or have made a career of being a stay at home mom; there is somebody here that can relate.

Figuring out how you're going to keep to your vegetarian diet at this gathering? No problem, we have vegans as a part of this family. We have people ranging from couch-potatoes to marathon runners; readers and non readers; sports nuts and those that really don't care for sports. We have those that excel in music (vocal and instruments) and those that can barely manage to select a genre on Pandora. Whether you are far right or far left on the political spectrum, we have someone that shares your views. We run the religious gamut from non-believers to preachers. We have connoisseurs of coffee and craft beer. We love hot and spicy...or not. We live in the rural Midwest and in large cities.

And we love each other.

The seventeen grandkids range from 35 years old down to eight...and they all get along. They played "Capture the Flag" until dark on Friday night and each side laughingly declared that the other side cheated. They played soccer on Saturday afternoon with the oldest declaring that he had earned the right to be the "lame cousin" and sitting the game out.

It has been so cool to hear what the kids have to say. Here are a few of the things I've heard or read:
"Hill family reunions are just the best!"
"My cousins are the very best"
"If I know you're visiting, I will have Starbucks." Grandmas are the best.
"This is a really cool family."

And my favorite from Friday night:
Mom (looking at the gathering of people): Jerry, look what we've started!
Dad: What are you blaming me for?!

Joining us for the day were all of the kids from my dad's sister's family with most of their kids and grandkids, and my dad's brother with his wife and one of their kids. I would echo the sentiments of my niece in saying that "My cousins are the very best!" It pains me that my kids don't get to see their cousins as often as I got to see mine, but I do rejoice in the way the get along when they do. The big kids are still the heroes and the little ones feel important every time somebody pays attention to their stories or plays their games.

Here are Mom and Dad with their grandkids and the women that their oldest grandsons have chosen:



And here is the whole gang minus Chris that couldn't be there.



John <><




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Saturday, 27 July 2013

Family Matters

Posted on 06:08 by Unknown
Blogging on the road this morning...

I'm enjoying coffee and oatmeal in the hotel breakfast area as the kids sleep in for a while. Today is the Hill Family reunion.

We all arrived in central Illinois yesterday and had a great evening together. Today's outdoor gathering looks like we will be blessed with sunny skies and temps in the mid 70s!

Only Chris is missing from the gathering as she has to deal with one of those jobs that is a 24/7 kind of deal.

Dad, Mom, six kids with their spouses/significant others, seventeen grandkids from 35yrs down to 8, three young women that have claimed the three oldest grandsons and one great-grand one the way! It was quite a gathering last night.

Today, we expect some of our cousins to join us so it will be an even larger gathering. There are plans for some of us to take in a baseball game tonight as the Cardinals' A team takes on the Cubs' A team.

I am looking forward to a grand day!
I hope that you have a wonderful weekend and wish that you all could come join us for lunch this afternoon!

John <><
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Posted in family, personal stuff | No comments

Thursday, 25 July 2013

Happy Anniversary!

Posted on 02:14 by Unknown
In the Blogosphere, we say Happy Blogoversary!

It was seven years ago that Out of My Hat made its first post! This is my 857th post.

Over the past seven years I've had my streaks of writing and not writing. I've posted rants of things that drive me crazy and shared things that I hold dear. I've written things that are funny and things that I find interesting. I've told my readers about me and the things that are important to me and written posts just as an exercise in writing.

The most incredible thing that I've found through writing Out of My Hat, is that I've made a great number of friends in the ever growing blogosphere. Sometimes I mourn a little bit over the blogs that have wandered off the virtual highway and disappeared into the great internet wasteland. I rarely search for random blogs to read as I once did, but do find new blogs by reading through the lists of blogs to which my readers subscribe.

There are only a few professional blogs that I read on a regular basis. Most of them are written by bloggers that are just regular people that have taken a little bit of the electronic world and use it for the purpose of making their voice heard.

Out of My Hat has gone from only a few friends as followers, to many readers from many countries and back to a few friends as followers. Although I check to see if anybody is reading, the truth is that I write to write, write to rant and will write as long as I feel like writing rather than write as long as people feel like reading. I've thought about using advertisements on my post but figured that I'd feel like I had to write to get readers rather than just write for fun.

I think it's funny (in the sad sort of way, not the ha-ha sort of way) that I've lost friends over things I've written because we have become a society that hates people that voice differing opinions. I think it's great that I've made friends over things that I've written--not because we agree on everything, but because we enjoy the differences and embrace the dialogue that helps us to grow in our knowledge of one another.

Some times I'm disappointed that the social networking has seemed to cost me more "friends" that it has gained readers, but then again--we all get to choose what we read, who we like, who we don't like and who we want to hate. Whatever!

Today I could have written about any number of world events. I could have written about on political party's latest scandal or about a great injustice taking place in one corner of the world or another. I could have written something uplifting and inspiring or I could have gone on another rant about something that is ticking me off.

But , no...
Today I choose a little shameless self-indulgence.
Happy Blogoversary, Out of My Hat!

John <><


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Posted in Getting started, writing | No comments

Monday, 22 July 2013

The Rise of the Christian Left and the Fall of Christian Conservatives

Posted on 07:35 by Unknown
Recently I have read several articles that are about a study that shows a decline in conservative Christianity and a rise in the Christian Left. Here is one. I think that there is a blending of definitions that creates a great misunderstanding between the difference in conservative politics and conservative Christianity. 

I am a conservative Christian. I believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God; that it is in his death, burial and resurrection that we have the hope of eternal life. I believe that the Holy Spirit of God lives in those that proclaim Jesus as Lord and guides us as we strive to follow our Lord. I believe that we are called on to share the Good News of salvation so that others may be drawn into the Kingdom of God.

I am not a political conservative--at least not as defined by today's standard. Most would say I am a social liberal. I believe that we have an obligation--both as Christians and as fellow citizens--to help those in need. I am not a political proponent, nor am I a political opponent of issues like abortion, birth-control, gay rights or other issues that seem to be so divisive between the politically conservative Christians and ... well, everybody else. I believe that any argument on legislation of social issues that begins with "the Bible says," is a poor argument. It's not a poor argument because the Bible is right or wrong about a subject, it's a poor argument because I don't want the Koran, the Book of Mormon, the Tripitaka or any other holy book or religious belief to be the sole reason that we make the laws to govern all of our citizens.

I don't think that I really fit into the character of "The Christian Left." There are enough issues that I am uncomfortable with to keep me from identifying with them completely. Nor do I believe that the people that believe in the core theological beliefs of the Bible are in decline. If fact, I would say that they are on the increase. I would say that many new followers of Jesus are abandoning the judgment and the politics of "The Christian Right" and working to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus by sharing His love and compassion rather than condemning the behavior of those outside of the faith. Just because they are not followers of the Tea Party or any of their spokespersons, doesn't mean that they are not conservative in their Christian beliefs.

I welcome those that would share Jesus with others. I welcome those that share his love by taking care of those that are in need. And I welcome those that share the Hope of eternal life found in Jesus. I welcome those that are living out their faith and not just going to church on Sunday. It may be okay for outsiders to label us as Christian Right and Christian Left. However, inside the family of Christianity, shouldn't we just call one another brothers and sisters in Our Lord Jesus?

John <><


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Posted in politics, rant, religion | No comments

Saturday, 20 July 2013

Random Notes...

Posted on 08:55 by Unknown
It's Saturday morning and I figured that I should throw something out there. Writing this morning is a bit of an exercise in forced writing since I don't necessarily feel like writing or have anything that I want to write about.  It's as good excuse as any to continue to sit on the deck and finish another cup of coffee before getting around to doing anything meaningful.

Another work week has come to an end and I find myself thinking more and more about retirement--still working out the fiscal numbers to make that work without handing over a large amount to the IRS. Chris found a house that she really liked and we made an offer last week. The owner countered, we counter-countered and haven't heard anything so I'm guessing that's a no-go. Retiring in Missouri might not be the best idea given the graphic in this article. I don't like MO falling into the lowest healthy life expectancy at age 65. Maybe there's still hope for a beach retirement...

I have a great job...and I still enjoy working. But there is usually at least one place that I can think of everyday that I would rather be. Most days, it's a list. I am looking forward to doing more ministry things when the time comes. Even though I don't particularly like being around kids that much, I recognize that God has gifted me to talk to them in ways that they can better understand His Word and His love. Maybe it's just that I appreciate and embrace the simplicity of His love for us. I've found that the deeper I go into studying the Bible; His plan, His love becomes more clear because of its simplicity--not because of its complexity. Reading books by scholars and theologians confirms the simplicity of what I already hold to be true.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to tell the kids at Hopedale's Vacation Bible School (VBS) about how much God loves them and how he has demonstrated that love. Ten kids made professions of faith, proclaiming Jesus as Lord and Savior and eight others are candidates for baptism.
That's some pretty awesome stuff!

This week I'll share some magic with kids in the Springfield Parks summer program and also with some families at Hopedale during an evening celebration of a week of work by a team of youth workers that will be here from Houston TX.

It's cool that I've already booked a couple of events for 2014. I'm glad that there are people that are planning that far in advance. If you are a planner for summer camps, VBS events, or even just a pastor that is planning a vacation and needs to fill the pulpit for a weekend; now is the time to schedule your speakers/entertainers/preachers.

Next month we'll be bidding our days off for 2014, followed by bidding for vacation leave. Even though I'm retirement eligible, I'm still about halfway down the seniority list. I believe that a Saturday/Sunday days off line will still be available to me. Fortunately, many of the more senior people like the additional pay for working Sundays and leave the weekends to lower seniority people.

I get to see my sisters tomorrow (briefly) and the whole family will be together the following weekend. I hope that you have the opportunity to be with the ones that you love. If not, give them a call, send them a text, make a contact. Life is too short to let the opportunities of a digital age pass you by.

John <><
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Friday, 12 July 2013

Time to Get Busy

Posted on 00:10 by Unknown
I will be busy for the rest of the summer!

It has been a little while since I updated the Coming Events section of the right-hand column. Mostly because I really haven't had anything to update about. Although, I've done a few things, none of them really had to do with preaching or magic, but it does appear that the rest of the summer will be pretty busy.

When it's been several weeks  (or months) since I've done a magic show, it does take a little bit of time to work on the old effects and get ready for another performance. When it's been a little while since I've been in the pulpit preaching, it also takes some time to prepare for that.

Of all of the coming events, the one that I'm really looking forward to is the one that will require the most prep work--the weekend youth retreat. For that event I'll be teaching two sessions on apologetics. I'm pretty stoked about it but I need to get busy getting the material together and organizing it into a couple of good lessons.

In addition to the "working" events, I've been trying to be more regular about getting some exercise. It is mostly walking or riding a stationary bicycle, but I've started to add a little bit of running into my walks. I'm currently toying with the idea of a 5K run in the fall--no commitment to it yet, but it's in my head and I'm looking into some of the training programs that are available to get a fat boy in shape to pull it off without being hauled away in an ambulance at the finish line.

Though I am an advocate of the diet for weight loss, exercise for health philosophy of healthful living, I'm sure that the physical activity is having its effect on weight loss as well. Better dietary habits have helped me to lose 13+ pounds since the beginning of June and that is a pretty strong motivator to keep it up. I'm certain that dropping a few more pounds will make the whole running thing less taxing on my joints and my knees will thank me for every pound that I manage to shed. I still haven't wrapped my head around the idea of running the 3.1 miles, but I'll start working up the running distance for now and see what happens with the knee pain, lung burn, fatigue and all of the other negatives of physical punishment that running causes.

I hope that the weekend is good to you and yours.

John <><
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Posted in health, magic, message | No comments

Wednesday, 10 July 2013

Mind Your Own Business!

Posted on 23:06 by Unknown
Tonight I'm wondering just how often a younger, more arrogant John managed to look like a real jerk by offering an opinion that was neither requested nor welcome on a subject that he knew little about.

 I see that happening fairly often--in the work place, at social gatherings, even church groups. It seems that some people always feel the need to appear to have some special insight about matters that don't concern them and they are completely ignorant about.

Is it just something about youth and immaturity that causes us to want to appear to be more knowledgeable than we are? It embarrasses me to think of times that a person must have been thinking, "What an ass!" as I was the one butting in on a conversation where I had no business being involved. 

It's not often that I appreciate the aging/maturing that I am experiencing, but I'm glad that I'm less embarrassed by ignorance and more willing to say that I don't know anything about something rather than talking out of my butt and just rambling on to hear my own voice. It seems that the less people know, the louder and more belligerent they are about their misguided opinions. 

I'm appalled at the lack of simple courtesy in our society today. I'd call it "common" courtesy, but unfortunately it's become an uncommon way of treating one another. Have we become so narcissistic that we completely disregard the impact that our words and actions have on others? Do we think that it is okay to be a jerk because that's just the way we are?

I wonder if I owe them their time to be the immature jerk that I once was; or should I save them some future embarrassment and gently tell them that they need to mind their own business? 

Maybe their maturing process is none of my business. In all likelihood, they're just repeating the behavior that has been modeled for them by our professional politicians and outrageous news media.

In any case, I'm becoming more curmudgeonly about bad manners and poor behavior. Some days I really want to call on "Ugly John" and set some people straight. Fortunately for everyone, "Ugly John" has been banished to a far away place.

The kind curmudgeon,
John <><
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What would happen if...?

Posted on 03:02 by Unknown
A recent political conversation has me wondering...

Given the number of conservative GOP governors that were once very much against ObamaCare but now embrace it because of the money it brings to their states and their states' economies;

And given the number of times the Republican controlled House has voted to repeal it, knowing that it will never pass in the Democratic controlled Senate;

What would happen if just enough Democratic senators voted in favor of repeal that it would take every Republican senator's vote to pass?

Would it pass?

Or what if the Senate passed its own bill and sent it to the House? Would a Democrat proposal be able to pass in the House?

When it comes down to the monies for healthcare providers and the benefits for their citizens, it would appear that the once vocal opponents have seen the light. If it appeared that repeal actually had a chance of passing, would they now lobby their Congressional representatives to oppose a repeal?

Would the House quit playing games that appeal to a shrinking base?
Could we expect them to...I don't know...start governing?

Just wondering...

John
<><
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