In My Arms

The Bible says in 1 Peter 2:19 For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God.




Knowing clouds will rage in....Storms will race in....But you will be safe in my arms....Rains will pour down....Waves will crash around

Psalm 69:29 I am in pain and distress; may your salvation, O God, protect me.

The suffering and pain are unjust. Oh.. that we could take the pain away.

But Jon I know you are conscious of God. You are commendable.

But you will be safe in my arms

Jon ..you are safe in His arms.

Bob & Lori's Anniversary Palooza

This is the story of Bob and Lori's most excellent wedding anniversary palooza.

Prior to the departure they invested in an I-Zoom to make the the whole toll process more efficient so they could reach their destination in a more timely manner.

....and they wanted to ZOOM!

They loaded up the Honda

...course it wasn't sunny like this ...the Michiana gray perma-cloud was present (this is an old picture).

They have two favorite restaurants in the Chicagoland area. One of them is the Cheesecake Factory. Being mindful that dessert is inevitable, c'mon...duh..Cheesecake Factory...they split an order of the most delicious Thai Chicken Pasta.

In response to the holiday season, the restaurant offered a special peppermint cheesecake so they ordered it. No it didn't look like this...it was white with red peppermint sprinkled througout it and topped with whip cream....but you get the idea....just picture it white.

After gorging themselves at the Cheesecake Factory...the hopped back into the Honda (remember...this car) and left for Gurnee (pronounced GUR-KNEE with the accent on "knee" by the locals, or so I'm told.)

They shopped at






for several hours before heading back to the Schaumberg area to spend the night at the Quality Inn (see pict. below)



Ok....let me fast forward to the next morning....

The "Oldly-Weds) rose early the next morning. Their goal was to find an Einstein's Bagle shop for breakfast. Bob got directions at the hotels front desk to the nearest Einsteins and they left. However, they got lost and ended up back at the hotel for further instructions. With the help from the front desk they succeeded and found the Einsteins!

Bob and Lori love Einstein's and were elated to find one. As they savored their delicious coffee and bagle they gazed into each other eyes and remembered the Quality Inn....aahhhh I mean, the remarked on how good the bagles and coffee were. Momentarily they contemplated opening a franchise but the remembered they didn't have that kind of money so they just went back to gazing into each others eyes.

Their goals for Saturday were to go to the IKEA down the road and then make their way from the Schaumberg area to downtown Chicago. But when they came out of IKEA the wind had picked up considerably it had began to rain.

Lori already was fighting a cold.....and neither Bob nor Lori are big fans of cold or rain and since Woodfield Mall was right across the street from IKEA they decided inside shopping was the best option.

besides....the mall had Christmas decorations and thats primarily why they were going downtown anyway.....

Lori tried on fur coats at MACY'Sbut just couldn't find one that she felt was right for her! She wanted chinchilla anyway and didn't have any.

After roaming the mall for a while they decided they wanted Mexican for lunch and made their way to the border (border of the mall parking lot, to be exact) and had lunch at

They finished up their Mexican Fiesta and hopped back in the Honda yes...its still this Honda....(Bob and Lori are Dave Ramsey groupies...they can't get a new car cuz they're doing the debt snowball...hmmm snowball, winter...how ironic) They headed back home.

This was the most excellent story of Bob and Lori's 26th wedding anniversary celebration.

26 years and counting

I married my best friend 26 years ago today. Happy Anniversary Lori!

You are my everything. I love you!

The Clapper Plus

Around the holidays the advertisements for those really strange gifts always surface on tv. You know, the Ronco adds, the Chia pets, and the Clapper.

Last week I saw a commercial for the Clapper Plus. How would you make clapping your hands new and improved? The Clapper people did (or at least they think so) The 'plus' in the Clapper Plus was a remote.


The premise for the remote was to be able to use the clapper technology without having to clap. In the first mini vignette they show a room with a baby sleeping. Of course you don't want to clap loudly to shut the lights off when a baby is sleeping so you can use your clapper remote to turn them off. The second selling point had an actress attaching the clapper remote to the wall just outside a room. The benefit was that you don't have to enter the room to turn the lights on.



HELLO! Have the people at the Clapper heard of a light switch!

distant

1Samuel 28
6 Saul prayed to God, but God didn't answer—neither by dream nor by sign nor by prophet.

What is making you feel distant from God? The economy, the holidays....noise? Do the lyric's of this song by Burlap to Cashmere "Is anybody out there" resonate with you?

Sometimes while I'm driving
Trying to find my song
Looking for the answers
And where I do belong
Finally the children are
Bringin' me back home

Is there anybody out there
Does anybody care
Are the people really there
Is there anybody seeking
Does anybody see
Or are they deaf and dumb like me

Is the government going to rescue you? Are situations beyond your control dictating your life? Are you floundering in hopelessness? Is anybody seeking?

I don't know why I rush to watch the news every morning. It's like watching the movie "Ground Hog Day" as every morning it's the same thing over and over. Yesterday I saw that GM is proposing the layoff of 30,000 people, yet the new administration taking office in January is proposing a stimulous package that creates 2 million jobs. How do you find joy in a climate like this? Is there anybody seeking?

Advent. I looked up some definitions: Advent (from the Latin word adventus, meaning "coming") is a season of the Christian church, the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus, The arrival, coming, or discovery of something, especially something extremely important.

God knows our needs. He knows tomorrows stock market results. He knows the future of GM.

Christmas is coming. Jesus' birthday. The arrival of something extremely important. Joy restored. Joy sustained. Hope found.

Is there anybody out there
Does anybody care
Are the people really there
Is there anybody seekin'
Does anybody see
That he died upon a tree

Do you feel distanced from God? He opened the door. Is anybody seeking>

Throwing in the towel

Hand towels similar to these...






...are available at the front desk when you walk into the gym.

They aren't large by any means. They work well for wiping the sweat from your brow but not really meant for anything else. I always grab one or two when I walk in as I like to have one for standing on when I get out of the shower and one for my work out.

I completed my workout this morning and headed for the locker room. A creature of habit, I always turn the shower on for it to warm up and then open my locker and gym bag to get all my toiletries and towel out and then get ready to take my shower.

I took everything out of my bag that was there and then stepped into the shower. I finished showering and opened the curtain. I always hang my bath towel on the hook next to the shower....

....but today there was no towel!

My first thought was I must have forgotten to get it out of my bag. So what choice did I have but to step out the shower, soaking wet, and go over to my locker.

NO TOWEL to be found! That's what I get for throwing stuff together in a rush last night. What to do....what to do!

Then I saw the two little white towels I'd grabbed from the front desk. I grabbed one of them and frantically began to pat myself dry. I couldn't reach the middle of my back and was trying to whip this little towel on my back to get it dry. It didn't take long for the first towel to become completely saturated with water. I grabbed the second towel and continued to 'pat dry' the best I could.

The second hand towel got drenched quickly as well and I still wasn't completely dry.

Options...options...I could stand under the hand blow dryer but wouldn't that be weird if someone came in the locker room. There are paper towels....no way too abrasive...hmmmmmm... (they really should put a stack of those hand towels in the locker room too). Looked as if I was going to be as dry as I was going to be so I just got dressed. Unfortunately my clothes had to absorb some of the wetness that still covered me. I guess it could have been worse. I could have not picked up any hand towels today. That would have not been fun.

Note to self. ALWAYS CHECK YOUR GYM BAG FOR A TOWEL BEFORE LEAVING THE HOUSE!

Thanksgiving in Orlando

Here our some highlites from our Thanksgiving week in Orlando....




I started every day with a trip to Dunkin Donuts for an extra large coffee with cream. I love Dunkin Donuts coffee! (don't tell the girls at Starbucks....shhhh!!)






Even though it was Thanksgiving....everything was decked out for Christmas in and around Orlando......it was pretty weird to see Christmas decorations alongside palm trees.









And bananas growing in November









Beautiful poinsettias were planted everywhere













Christmas trees were all around Downtown Disney and at the malls











But the best part of being in Orlando for the holiday was getting to spend it with Josh, Alyssa and her parents. The Thanksgiving meal was outstanding (Alyssa cooked it). We laughed and had a wonderful time.












.....'course Eddie pretty much stole the show.

Our dog is a cross dresser

.

Monday morning. No need for an alarm clock today because we're on vacation this week. But our 'aged' dog has no concept of vacation! He decided that it was time to get up at 4am.





He's just a small dog and sleeps at the foot of our bed. But when he leaps of the bed at 4am it sounds like an elephant. I think everything is amplified about a zillion times when your 1/2 asleep. It was a very loud thud. You'd think he weighed 100lbs!

Restless. That is what best describes him after he takes the plunge. He gets on his back and squirms around making grunting noises. This goes on for a few minutes then silence. Then you can hear him flip over on his back and the grunting and flopping starts again. This ritual goes on and on forever....or at least it seems that way when you're half asleep. Then the whining starts. Just repeated little squeaks. I guess he figures if all the grunting and flopping wont get us up then the whining will. And yes it works.

Finally, just before 5am I gave in and decided to get up. I threw back the warm covers and rolled out into the coldness of the room. Coffee. I need coffee. It was pitch black in our room. When I stood up I could sense the dog wasn't far. I bent over and reached down into the black abyss and scooped him up.....but I got more than the dog.

I can't see much of anything but its obvious he has something wrapped around him. What on earth could it be? I began to pull and realized that whatever it was not just wrapped around him, he was woven through it.

It dawned on me that before we'd gone to bed I noticed that Lori had folded her gym clothes for the morning and placed them on top of her gym bag not far from the bed. Some how the dog, in all of his rolling around-back scratching escapades on the floor, had managed to knock the clothes off the gym back. But not only that, he'd managed to 'waller' his way through the arm strap of Lori's bra. He had it all twisted up around him. I pulled and unwrapped until I could finally get it off him.

I was pretty ticked at him for waking me up but almost laughed outloud when I realized what he'd done. If only I would have had a camera!

What a boob!

Credit Card ..... Debit Card ???

I was listening to the radio this morning and happened to catch Kim Komando's Digital Minute radio feature. For those of you unfamiliar with Kim (aka America's Digital Goddess), she hosts a 3 hour weekly radio show about everything and anything eletronic from DVD players to USB drives.

So this is what her digital minute was about today...

Use credit cards rather than debit cards. Credit cards usually allow you to dispute charges and they also typically provide fraud liability protection. Some debit cards offer the same protection, but you might not be able to access your cash until disputes are settled.




Kim, meet Dave.




(from daveramsey.com)
Think a credit card is safer to use than a debit card? Most people do. They convince themselves that credit cards carry a better track record, and you're less likely to have your money stolen from you when you use a credit card. Sadly, those people are wrong.

Credit cards carry a huge risk of allowing the user to incur debt. Debit cards force you to pay with money you already have. If you hold a debit card from a well-known name like Visa or MasterCard, it will have the same policy about unauthorized charges that credit cards have. Don't fool yourself into thinking that credit cards are the "safe" way to go. They'll only get you into trouble and force you to make payments.

Debit cards are being used at an all-time high today and are used more often than credit cards. Last year debit card use exceeded a trillion dollars. Whew! That's a lot of people using debit cards! Although we like to see the increase of debit cards versus credit cards, we still want to make sure you're being careful with your debit card.

Since a debit card is directly linked to your bank account, it's a convenient way to purchase things without incurring debt. When you use a debit card, the money is immediately withdrawn from your account, which means no interest, late fees, over-the-limit fees, or annual fees - all good things to help you avoid debt. Debit cards are also great to use because they don't require you to carry cash or write a check.

Good morning snow

I knew it was snowing when I went to bed last night but didn't expect this when I got up this morning....

Snapped these shots at 4am before I went to the gym.




Looks like the snow is here to stay for a while....

Of lambs and goats....

We started new Journey classes at GCC last night and I'm attending Jason Millers class entitled Spiritual Practices: Celebration. At the end of the night Jason reminded us to do our homework which part of was to read Exodus 12.

So I’m doing my homework (like an obedient Christian should)and I get hung up on this Lamb and Goat thing the first few verses….. First I was confused about lamb’s and goats.I thought they were different animals, but then I started to question myself so I had to look it up.

In my research they are different but of the same family of ruminant mammals.




ruminant (cud-chewing) mammal of the genus Ovis. The sheep is usually stockier than its relative the goat; its horns, when present, are more divergent; it has scent glands in its face and hind feet; and the males lack the beards of goats. Sheep usually have short tails. In all wild species of sheep, the outer coat takes the form of hair, and beneath this lies a short undercoat of fine wool that has been developed into the fleece of domesticated sheep. Male sheep are called rams, the females ewes, and immature animals lambs. Mature sheep weigh from about 80 to as much as 400 pounds any ruminant and hollow-horned mammal belonging to the genus Capra.



Related to the sheep, the goat is lighter of build, has horns that arch backward, a short tail, and straighter hair. Male goats, called rams or billys, usually have a beard. Females are called does or nannys, and immature goats are called kids. Wild goats include the ibex and markhor.

Ok so, now I know I'm not crazy and that lamb's are different from goats but are the same type of ruminant mammal. So maybe lambs were the Lexus of ruminant animals and not everyone could afford one so the GOAT was the more affordable PINTO of the mammals…I dunno!

Just as a side note I did find a marketing website for Lambs for Passover purchase…

SheepGoatMarketing.info originated from the North East Sheep & Goat Marketing Project, a USDA-funded project to improve the marketing infrastructure for sheep and goat producers in the twelve northeastern states. This web site was redesigned as a National information resource for sheep and goat marketing, with special focus on the marketing of lamb and goat to the ethnic and religious markets.

Passover
April 3-10, 2007
April 20-27, 2008
April 9-16, 2009
March 30-April 6, 2010
Type of lamb wanted - 30-55 lbs, milk fed and fat.

Anyway, so I’m in this discussion with a co-worker about lamb, sheep and goats and she says that she’s pretty sure that later in the Bible Goats are the ‘losers’ so to speak. Thought it was interesting that in a sacrifice for the Passover that a lamb or goat was acceptable, but goats became the term for those who refuse to acknowledge God.

Had I chosen not to do my homework I never have known the difference betweeen lambs and goats. Did you do your Journey homework?

Ginormous

1Samuel 17:4-7 A giant nearly ten feet tall stepped out from the Philistine line into the open, Goliath from Gath. He had a bronze helmet on his head and was dressed in armor—126 pounds of it! He wore bronze shin guards and carried a bronze sword. His spear was like a fence rail—the spear tip alone weighed over fifteen pounds. His shield bearer walked ahead of him.

They loom around us every day. Giants. Giants that overwhelm us. I have them. You have them. Some are self imposed. Some come from the world around us. The smallest things can evolve into giants if we let them.

Every morning I turn on the news and another major corporation needs to be bailed out, or the stock market (aka my retirement) had plummeted again, or the government is bailing out another gluttonous organization, or another suicide bomber carry's out his assignment. Giants over which I have no control over continuoulsy rain down.

What about the personal giants? My grocery cart is full of the same stuff every week but the total is $50 higher.... Winter is looming, but if I turn increase the heat how will I pay for that cart of groceries.... I made the mistake of opening my quarterly retirement statement a couple of weeks ago.... I try to give experience based advice to my kids but they don't hear it....am I doing what I was created to do....

8-10 Goliath stood there and called out to the Israelite troops, "Why bother using your whole army? Am I not Philistine enough for you? And you're all committed to Saul, aren't you? So pick your best fighter and pit him against me. If he gets the upper hand and kills me, the Philistines will all become your slaves.

Our giants taunt us. They try to convince us they're unconquerable. But, how we choose to respond to them makes all the difference.

11 When Saul and his troops heard the Philistine's challenge, they were terrified and lost all hope.

Fear paralyzes and destroys. It's reactive. What if, what if we put our hope and trust in God and not ourselves or the government....

45-47 David answered, "You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel's troops, whom you curse and mock. This very day GOD is handing you over to me. I'm about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body and the bodies of your Philistine buddies to the crows and coyotes. The whole earth will know that there's an extraordinary God in Israel. And everyone gathered here will learn that GOD doesn't save by means of sword or spear. The battle belongs to GOD—he's handing you to us on a platter!"

Faith conquers.

48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

Times are tough. There's no doubt. What are relying you on? Yourself, the government, or God?

Burlap to Cashmere release a song a few years ago entitles "Anybody out there" The chorus went like this.....

Is there anybody out there
Does anybody care
Are the people really there,
Oooooh Oooooh Oooooh
Is there anybody seeking
Does anybody see
Or are they deaf and dumb like me

Tire inflation

Early on in the race for president Barack Obama, in his interview at Saddleback church said "Making sure your tires are properly inflated, simple thing, but we could save all the oil that they're talking about getting off drilling, if everybody was just inflating their tires and getting regular tune‐ups. You could actually save just as much"

Who knew I had an Obama friendly car!


Yesterday on a trip back from Kalamazoo this light came on my dash.



I didn't know such a warning existed on my Civic
.

So prior coming to work today I stopped at Basney Honda to have my tire inflation checked. The service person at Basney advised that they were now putting nitrogen in the tires rather than air and that it would cause the pressure in my tires to remain constant. He said otherwise with the colder weather the warning light would likely come back on after putting air in the tires. He said they could inflate the tires with nitrogen right then if I had a few minutes. I said ok and made my way to the waiting room for service.

Well, $25 later my tires are now inflated with nitrogen. I was looking over the bill and this was printer under my acceptance signature for the service: NITROGEN
CUSTOMER REQUESTS/ACCEPTS RECOMMENDATION TO SAVE FUEL, TIRES, MONEY, FOR THE PLANET EARTH, INCREASE HANDLING, AND PROVIDE EXTRA SAFETY FOR ALL PASSENGERS

Notice the inconsistency in the disclaimer...save money, what savings? It cost me $25, last I knew air was free. I'm also wondering if the nitrogen will make my tires wear less? It will be interesting to see if my mileage increases (I'm already getting about 30+ mpg) or if my tires last any longer. I'm seriously thinking of putting a sign in my car for passengers alerting them that they are now safer because I have nitrogen in my tires.

Maybe I'll get an extra $25 on my next stimulous check for helping to save the planet earth!

The joy of victory? The agony of defeat?

It's over. Are we better off, worse off? Time will tell. I'm just glad that it's not me with the weight of the country on my shoulders. The economy, health care, the war in Iraq among all the other things the new president will face seems pretty overwhelming to me.

I found it interesting and on purpose that my Bible reading came from 1Samuel chapter 12 today. Samuel was dealing with disgruntled Israelites who were begging him for a king. Despite the fact that God had bailed them out countless times, the (v.6 He brought your ancestors out of Egypt)they insisted a king would cause them to feel safe and protected.

So God granted their request.

1Samuel 12
13-15 "So here's the king you wanted, the king you asked for. GOD has let you have your own way, given you a king. If you fear GOD, worship and obey him, and don't rebel against what he tells you. If both you and your king follow GOD, no problem. GOD will be sure to save you. But if you don't obey him and rebel against what he tells you, king or no king, you will fare no better than your fathers.

The voice of the people (or perhaps the influence of the media) was heard again yesterday. Hopefully the new president elect will be able to step up to the plate and hit it out of the park...who knows? Maybe you're ecstatic about the outcome of the vote, maybe your not. Whatever the case, God is in ultimate control. He is always at work even when we can't see it. Whatever challenges we have to endure, God is ultimately in control of the situation. Finding confidence in this enables us to face whatever lies ahead.

Under the influence

We had dinner with some friends last night and of course the hot topic was the upcoming election. One of our big concerns was the "followers", the people who vote based solely on what the hear or see on television. People need to take the time to research the candidates and draw their conclusions on their own, not what the media is dictating to them....

Our wonderful dog got me up early this morning so I decided to logon to my laptop and check out the newsheadlines. How ironic that this was a news headline this morning.


At least they're admitting it....

http://www.comcast.net/articles/tv/20081031/Campaign.Media/

Leaf me alone

Every time Fall rolls around it reminds me that of all the lots in our subdivision that were open to build on 10 years ago I had to have the one with the trees on it. Our yard was virtually covered in leaves as of Monday this week.






You really couldn't even see much of the grass in the back and side yards.





The weather hadn't been exactly been accomodating for clean up either. Rain and cold seem to be plaguing us day after day the previous week.

Knowing that our schedules weren't going to allow us to even think about raking until near the end of this week I decided to call in the reinforcements. Dan did our lawn for a summer a couple of years ago for a entire summer and he'd also cleaned up our leaves. I've used him a few times here and there for the lawn when we're out of town so I thought perhaps I could get him to do the leaves. So I called him. I wasn't too excited about the cost I was quoted for the job but I guess you pay a price for convenience.

Dan said that he'd be happy to clean up our leaves but the weather had put him behind as well (he owns his own lawn mowing company) and he probably wouldn't be able to get here until Friday. I thought about it and said that we'd try to get them done ourselves before then but if we didn't I'd call him Friday morning and give him a satus. I figured Lori and I could work on the leaves Wednesday and Thursday night. I didn't really want to miss our Journey class at GCC on Wednesday but I wasn't relishing the thought of paying a handsome amount to have them done by someone else either.

As I drove into our subdivision Wednesday evening, even though our house is a ways down the street it looked like there were no leaves in the front yard. As I got closer it became apparent that the leaves had all been cleaned up and the lawn mowed. I scratched my head. How did I miscommunicate my intentions? I have to admit the lawn looked great and I was selfishly glad that I would get to attend my Journey class.

When I got in the house and sat my cell phone down I realized that I'd never turned it on all day. When I powered it I saw I had three voice mails. I called my voice mail and my first message was from Dan. He said that his schedule had changed and that he was going to be availalbe to do our lawn on Wednesday. He said he was sure I'd probably still want it done but if I didn't to give him a call before noon. Well, yah can't really call someone back when you don't know they called!

I think God must have really wanted me to attend my Journey class!

Go Team!

Ok, let's face it. I don't know everything. Sometimes situations arise in which I'm not well versed but need to make a decision and/or take action upon. I have two choices: I can rely totally upon only what I know or I can seek the wisdom and counsel of others to better equip me for the response.

This "team" concept is so evident in my work place at Granger Community Church. It is modeled from our Senior Management Team all the way to the volunteers that serve.

My supervisor, Dave, has been instrumental in helping me grow in this team approach to challenges. I've learned that I don't have to have the answer to everything. Dave is always open to a question (no matter how dumb I think it may be) and I'm become very comfortable in bouncing ideas off of him.

Just yesterday I had one those "issues" arise. I knew what route I thought was correct, but wasn't sure if I'd considered all of the ramifications. I ran it by Dave and we discussed it. I then ran it by a couple other staff and even more helpful information and process evolved. Team effort pays.

From his book, “The Richest Man Who Ever Lived” , Steven Scott discusses our naivete to success in his chapter on “Disarming the booby traps to success. Scott says “More often than not, our vision is far too limited to make the best decision based only on our own knowledge and experience. Solomon cautions in Proverbs 15:22, “Without counsel plans are frustrated, but, with many counselors they succeed.” To make important decisions without the aid of outside counsel is not only naïve, it’s foolish. By bringing in the expert opinion of others, we radically expand our field of vision and become far more qualified to make a wise decision.”

Sure there are day to day things that we should all be able to make good decisions about and follow through on, but there are also many things that have a much better outcome with the counsel of others. Team out performs an individual every time.

creatures of habit

Creature of habit. Probably should be incorporated into my name. And it only became more apparent to me this morning, here's why.......

There is a group of us that are at Panera nearly every morning between 6 and 7. We always sit in the same places EVERY DAY. A few in our little group arrive when the store opens at 6 and the rest of us trickle in by 6:30. But we always sit in the same seats.

Unless. Unless an intruder invades the space. Such as happened today. I arrived at 6:20 and there, sitting in MY CHAIR was a stranger. A stranger in my chair. It can totally mess you up. My eyes met with the group of regulars who were sitting in their same seats. They knew my look and the all burst out laughing. Reluctantly I sat down at a table outside of the comfortable sphere of our group. And pouted! Not really but I wanted too!

As I sat with my laptop open at the table in the foreign, uncharted and untamed area of Panera, I'd look up every now and then and see my friends, who were sitting in the safe confines of our common space, grinning at me. I'd stick my tongue out at them and return my look to my computer. Of course, that caused uproarious laughter explode from them.

Well it wasn't long before one of our veterans got up to leave for the day. I jumped on the opportunity to slide back over to the 'homeland'. The universe had once again been righted. Well for the most part. The stranger still occupied my chair which was causing a slight imbalance. If he's there tomorrow I guess we'll have to give him the 'membership package' and the assigned seating arrangments!

Funny how our little group ALWAYS sits in the same places, but we don't protect the space each of us occupy??

Autumnal Equinox

Cold weather is not for me. But when you live in northern Indiana it's pretty much a fact of life. I decided to let my dislikes for the upcoming inclimate weather aside and surround myself in the uncomparable colors that only God could create........












And even when the trees have just surrendered
To the harvest time
Forfeiting their leaves in late September


And sending us inside
Still I notice You when change begins
And I am braced for colder winds
I will offer thanks for what has been and was to come
You are autumn
......Nicole Nordeman

Maze, the other corn

Each month I'm part of a meeting called "Check Point" composed of staff from operations and finance. It's a time for us to talk about leadership in our specific areas and seeking God's wisdom for that area of our lives. Each month one of us has the opportunity to take the reigns and lead the group in a study or activity.

Tom was in the 'hot seat' as the lead person for the October meeting. On Monday I realized that we'd never rec'd an assignment for this months meeting and wondered what we would be studying. But at 2:41 in the afternoon my question was answered....well sorta?

Subject: Check Point
As I have been preparing for weeks on our topic for tomorrow, I have decided we will need more then 1-1/2 hours to cover in full, this in depth study I have prepared. Plan on blocking out the rest of the day for our time together. I need for each of you to bring 4 different translations of the Bible, 3 sets of cards, 2 metal pots and a partridge in a pair tree!!!!!

But then again, most of you may know me and know me to well to know that I am a procrastinator and have waited until the last minute to prepare. I can say that I have at least been thinking about our time together. So scrap all the above that you were suppose to bring, but make sure you do bring clothes for some outdoor activity. You may want to wear your outdoor clothes in and then change when we return, (Rain or shine for I have no backup plan) . Yes we will be meeting offsite. Directions will follow in the morning.

Quite honestly I was a little aprehensive. The 'rain or shine' thing really put me on edge. I don't like to be cold and wet and have to spend the rest of the day like that. Jokingly (maybe) I did a reply all and responded to Tom that I didn't have an outside clothes. Tom emailed back and told me to wear some of my wifes out door clothes...I replied and said they were too small...my wise cracking wife repsonded that I wore them at home all the time...and it just went down hill from there. We bantered back and forth for awhile until it just became outrageously funny. Just the same I still wasn't too excited about the potential of an outdoor activity in the rain.

So I get up yesterday morning and its cloudy but relatively warm. Of course, the first thing on my mind was this outdoor activity today, but it seemed like the weather was going to cooperate. I did my gym thing and went for my usual morning coffe/reflection time at Panera. It was time to head to work and I walked out the door from Panera and it was raining. No only was it raining, it was pouring and the wind was blowing furiously. Wonderful, NOT!

Eleven am rolled around Tuesday morning and it was time to go to leave for the undivulged location. Fortunately the rain had stopped, but it had cooled off considerably. Tom had given Dave an envelope with directions earlier in the morning, so the two Lori's, Mel and I all piled in to Daves SUV and headed out. Tom was meeting us there.

Tom's directions were very creative. He used a combination of landmarks and street names to guide us to the final destination, but we quickly figured out that it was the corn maze on Douglas road.

The corn maze had twelve clue stops already set up with questions about, go figure, corn! With permission from the farm, Tom went to all the clue stops and posted his own questions about the 12 disciples of Jesus with multiple choice answers. He gave us maps and told us to head out. When we all returned we'd tally up the points to see who answered the most correctly.

Mel headed out on her own and the rest of us kind of moved together in a group. I couldn't make heads nor tails out of the map and had I not followed our little group I'd probably still be wandering around that corn field! All in all it only took us a little more than 30 minutes to complete the maze. We had a blast. Each time we found a clue/question someone would read it outload along with the choice of responses. One of us, (mostly Dave) would respond with an incorrect response trying to throw us all off. We laughed and had a great time.

Yesterday was probably one of the most creative Check Point meetings I've attended since I started working at GCC a year and 1/2 ago. Thanks for your amazing creativity Tom! It was an incredible way incorporate scripture with leadership.

My aprehension and reluctance were totally unfounded.