Midsummer Night's Eve

It is a beautiful evening in the Ozarks. It's just above 80 degrees (that's around 27C for my international friends) and the humidity is tolerable. It's a good night to sit on the deck, enjoy a cigar and write a few words on my blog.

It has been a good week!

Work has been uneventful. Chris is back from visiting with her sisters. I've managed to get back on track as far as diet and fitness go, and I have plans to meet my boy in St. Louis for a baseball game tomorrow. All-in-all, it's a good week to be John Hill.

I've been playing with a few old magic effects. I'm gearing up for some new venues for magic and have been digging through some of the things that I own but haven't used in some time (or ever). It's like it's Christmas time when I find an old favorite or an effect that I never worked to performance level and get to start over on practicing it and shaping it for future use. Some of my co-workers have been the beneficiaries (or targets) of my recent rediscoveries. I'm not always sure if they enjoy them as much as I do or not. Maybe I need to invest in a little magic shop for my retirement.

Nah.
That would be fun except for the part about having to be there everyday!

I think that working on new venues to perform in will be enough. Even if I don't find paying gigs, having fun in close up venues will be fun. Magic as ministry is starting to lose its appeal a little at a time. I still have fun with it and can see that it has some value, but I'm always a little torn by the idea of having a gimmick to get people to listen to the message of salvation. Too often, we preachers sound more like traveling salesmen or carnival barkers than messengers of eternal life. We shouldn't need to have a gimmick or schtick to share God's message of love and forgiveness.

I know that we are to be more aware of the condition of the world around us, Unfortunately, it seems that awareness has only led to judgment rather than leading us to the place of sharing what we know about God's grace and plan of redemption.

However you do it, tell somebody...
God loves you.
Jesus died for you.

John <><