Half Past 2011

Wow! What has happened to the first half of 2011?
Actually, even though today marks the end of the first six months of the year, half way by number of days won't be for another day or so. Still -- the year seems to be flying by!

This will be my thirteenth post for the month of June; slightly off the 3 posts per week that I set as a writing goal. All-in-all, I'm happy with that. Vacation, camp, just being busy -- all are excuses that I've used, but still managed to post more than any month so far this year (and more than a third of this year's total posts).

I've noticed that more of my posts are centered around my spiritual beliefs and philosophy; less are about government, politics or general rants. There are still the occasional nobody-really-cares-about-my-personal-life-but-it's-my-blog kind of posts.  And of course, the rare post on magic, performing, etc. Out of My Hat has changed a bit over the past few years. It's still just a place for me to write. I certainly enjoy the wide readership that I have experienced over the years and look forward to your comments (so please leave them).  I never expected to have readers from around the globe and from so many different backgrounds.  As the regularity of my posts has declined, so has the overall readership. Thanks to the faithful that still stop by to see what's posted from time to time.

Somebody recently asked me if I'd done any more writing on my book (from my very first post).  The answer, of course, is no.  I have had some other ideas on books to be written, but none has managed to be more than that -- an idea.  It seems that I don't even have the time to record my random thoughts here. Where am I going to find the time to purposefully write a book?

I do have some new thoughts on blogging and will be asking what you think about them in the coming weeks.  If you read regularly and are on Facebook, I really appreciate it when you share a post that you like with your friends. There is a Facebook icon at the bottom of each post that makes it easy.  If you want to "friend" me and follow Out of My Hat from Facebook, you can do that here.  Please add a comment to your friend request to let me know that you're a blog reader so that I don't just ignore your request.  You can also add your name to the small list of followers about halfway down the right-side column.

I am looking forward to the second half of 2011.  I know that it will be filled with both challenges and opportunities (much like the first half was). I look forward to hearing from you in the remainder of the year and, as always, would enjoy the opportunity to meet you. If you are looking for a family getaway, Southwest Missouri has much to offer. Let me know if you're going to be in the neighborhood.

John <><

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Bureaucratic Nonsense

Yesterday morning I was driving home after working the midnight shift and listening to the local NPR station.  They ran this story on the minting of one dollar coins and how the coins are piling up in vaults and going unused but are continuing to be minted because of a Congressional mandate.

Just as it takes forever for Congress to actually do anything; it apparently also takes Congress forever to stop doing something.  In spite of the fact that this program has no benefit and is costing both time and money, it continues because Congress set it in motion and there is no sensible force (since Congress is the only force) that can say, "Enough, already!"

It's lunacy at its finest.  Certainly, I'm not the only person that realizes that if you really want dollar coins to replace paper dollars, you might want to STOP PRINTING PAPER DOLLARS! Otherwise it's pretty much an exercise in futility (which is about as much exercise as some of us ever get!). 

Really it seems like a simple solution: either stop printing dollar bills and start distributing dollar coins or stop minting and storing dollar coins -- TODAY!  Why waste one more day? Why can't somebody in Congress just say, "Wow! That was one of our stupid decisions. Let's repeal it right away."  

No committee work. No debate. Just vote and be done with it.  Mint coins or print dollars, majority wins. Then move on to the next order of business.

Geez, no wonder we're so far in debt. Wasting money just seems to come naturally to our elected reprehensatives.

Sorry for the brief rant today.

I feel better.

John <><

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Love Wins

I just finished reading Rob Bell's controversial book Love Wins.  (Or maybe it would be more accurate to say I just finished reading the controversial Rob Bell's book, Love Wins.)

I know that I'm a few months behind the evangelical outrage over the book, but controversy doesn't always make me stop what I'm doing and get involved.  However, it often does compel me to read books that I would not normally read just to see what has everybody's panties in a wad.

As a book -- it was an easy read, though not necessarily a good read. I found his style to be a bit of organized chaos that seemed to be like conversing with a severely ADD person that managed to stay on the same topic but wanted to convince you of his opinion by using a hundred different arguments. I've never really minded somebody questioning my beliefs (and think that it's healthy to ask questions, myself), but Bell does seem to take it to the extreme.

Many of his questions are not new.  Even many of his answers are not new.  I think that his packaging of these ideas is new ... and confusing.

The book uses a lot of scripture in defense of his answers. He says a lot of the same things that mainstream evangelicals would say; but there is too much of Bell's thoughts mixed in with the biblical teaching to be acceptable for good theology.  I don't think that I would call him a universalist, actually I don't know how I would identify his theology. It is very confusing.

I am not much of a theologian and really not qualified to give a theological defense (for or against) of Love Wins.  If you are interested in a pretty thorough (and pretty long) review, I suggest you read this review from The Gospel Coalition.

In the end, we are all responsible for our own choices.  We can let others think for us or we can think for ourselves.  I don't think that I would put down Rob Bell for his thoughts. In fact, there is much in his book that I agree with.  Perhaps, that's the danger -- a little truth mixed with a lot of conjecture.  Where does truth end and conjecture begin?

Go ahead and borrow the book from your local library if you don't have anything else to read; but guard your heart. Any book that threatens what you hold dear should be read with caution.

I will say that he chose his title well.
After all, I do believe that:

God is Love
God wins
     therefore
Love Wins

John <><

‎"Doubting everything and believing everything are equally convenient solutions that guard us from having to think."  --Henri Poincare, Of Science and Hypothesis

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Time for a Break

Wow! Last week was a pretty busy week; too busy to be blogging.

Hopedale Kids' Camp was out on Monday. I was scheduled to work Tuesday but took the day off to have my knee looked at by one doctor and then had my annual flight physical by another doctor.  Tuesday night I was in Branson for the Missouri Baptist Pastor's Conference (MB125) to entertain the pastors and their families.  I finished out the work week and after getting off of work at 6:30 Saturday morning, Chris and I made the trip to Hillsboro MO for her dad's wedding.

The best part of the trip was getting to spend some time with Aaron and Jenny. We also got to see some of Chris' family that we seldom get to see.  Aaron's friend, Matias, was in the area, so we got to spend some time visiting with him, too. The visit was a short one and we were headed back home by 10 am Sunday morning.

I was home for about 45 minutes (enough time to shower, change and pack up my magic show) before I was on the road again to the First Baptist Church of Laurie MO for their VBS Kick-off.  By the time I got home at 9:15 pm, I figured that I'd spent about 15 of the last 37 hours in a car.  It almost makes me glad to go back to work ... almost!

So those are my excuses for not blogging last week.  I did get a little bit of reading done and I'll share those books and thoughts when I finish the second and find the time to write.  I don't think that this week will be quite so busy.

John <><

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Morning thoughts

It's Tuesday morning on the day after Hopedale's kids' camp. It's also the first day of summer.  Just some random thoughts from this morning as I enjoy some espresso from my recently acquired stove top espresso maker. (Thanks, Chris!)

Camp was pretty awesome. It was interesting to watch things unfold and find that our plan for camp and God's plan for camp weren't exactly the same.  It almost seemed as if God was a little impatient this year (no disrespect intended--just an observation).  Normally, the lessons and worship time messages build up to an evangelical message and an invitation to make a decision to follow Jesus towards the end of camp.  This year, there were nine decisions made on the very first night of camp!  And more were made at each of the worship times that followed!

We were blessed with many first time campers and several first time adult helpers, too.  I hope that they all had a great time and will make plans to return next year.

Children's camps always have their downside for me. There are so many kids that come to these camps that have terrible home lives.  Sometimes it manifests itself through bad behavior or attention getting means.  Most of the time we see it through their response to a few people that are willing to just love them for the weekend that we have them.  It is easy to see that some of them rarely (if ever) have anything positive said about them or to them. It appears that many never have positive physical contact like a simple hug. One child said that he was sent to camp as a punishment and doesn't want his mom to know that he had a great time so that he can come back next year.  Each year, there are kids that seem very upset that camp has to come to an end and wish that they could stay.  For some, it's just a normal response to a fun weekend that comes to an end.  For others, it's a very sad moment when they realize that this fun time is over all too soon and it's time to go back their crappy life.

I'm glad that we have the opportunity to share a little bit of God's love with them. But I also fear that it's very difficult for a child to believe that God loves them when they live a life that is absent of love.  It almost makes me want to ... well, it just makes me angry. How can parents not see the hurt in the eyes of their kids?

And, although I trust that God knows what He's doing, sometimes I have to wonder -- How is this child's pain going to bring glory to you?  Questioning God's motives or methods isn't meant to make God look like the bad guy; it just shows that I really have no idea of how He works, how He thinks or how He loves.

Wish I had time to share more, but life calls ...

John <><

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Just a quick note to say that we had an awesome first day at Hopedale's Kids' Camp. The weather was great; the kids were great; everything went well in spite of a few minor setbacks.

I am looking forward to the rest of the weekend and can't wait to see all that God has planned for us. Several kids have already made commitments to follow Jesus.

Expect a full report when camp is over and I'm not using my cell phone to type.

John<><

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Starting the Day

It looks like it's going to be another beautiful day in the Ozarks today.  It's not often that Chris and I work the same schedule and are able to car pool, but this is the second day this week. I suppose the fact that I haven't traded into the additional mid-shifts this week has something to do with it.

I have a little bit of additional time this morning while Chris is getting ready, so I thought I push out a few words on Out of My Hat.

Tomorrow is the first day of Hopedale's Children's Camp. As of last night, we have 71 kids signed up! I'm not sure of the number of adults, but I do know that there are several first time adult helpers coming this year. Even though I'm not completely ready for camp, I'm really looking forward to it this year.  There is just something about the way the Holy Spirit has been moving at Hopedale recently that makes my expectations of camp ... well, it's hard to put into words--exciting doesn't seem to get it. There is just an anticipation of something great and I can't wait to see what happens.

******

I joined the small group study on David Platt's Radical last night.  It's a killer book but I'm not sure how I feel about it as a group study, especially one that has so many people in it.  It's really the kind of book that you have to close the door and take your spiritual beating in private. It's the kind that forces you to ask God questions about your own spiritual growth and there really is no way for somebody else to help you with the answers.  That said, it was a good class.

Reading through the 100+ year old book In His Steps is like reading through the 1897 version of Platt's book.  It's like a century old version of the struggle of Christians to impact their world with the Gospel the way that Jesus meant for the church to impact the world.

Both books get my recommendation for a good Christian growth book.  Check them out.

Time to finish getting ready.

John <><

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