Packing and Pitching

Ugh!
We have greatly neglected our trend to move every few years so that we can pitch out all of the accumulated junk. We lived in our last home for something like six years. That might have been the longest we had stayed in one home. We have been in this house for three times that long!

Holy crap!
We have definitely accumulated stuff to fill the available space. And we still have some stuff from the kids' childhood days. I am amazed at the number of books we (I) have. Between magic books, religious study books, health books, and just plain old books -- there are a lot of boxes of books being packed.
I'm sure that just in magic books, DVDs, and VHS tapes (yes, I still have some of those) I have well over $10,000 dollars invested. I don't even want to think of how much I have in gimmicks and apparatus. (I checked -- the plural of apparatus is apparatus or apparatuses.)

I have a lot of small effects that I bought because I liked them and not because I have a venue to use them. It's been a long while since I've spent much on magic. I now try to make sure that it is something I can use in a show before spending the money. It took me a long time to learn that lesson, so I have a LOT of stuff!

I did take pictures of much of what I have as I packed it away. I need to find a forum for selling magic stuff.
I should probably familiarize myself with Craig's List, Facebook Marketplace, and other more contemporary alternatives to the old school garage sale. Although I have purchased items off eBay, Craig's List, and Facebook Marketplace, I have never listed nor sold anything.

The plan is to downsize and build according to what we (and by we, I mean Chris) want.
In truth, it won't be downsizing by much, but it will be a new home, built for us. We are hopeful that the slight difference in size and relocating to a more rural setting will leave us in a pretty much cash neutral or slightly favorable situation.
The process kind of sucks, but I'm hopeful that the end result will be worth the hassle.

It's probably a good idea to do a little packing and pitching in other areas of life, as well. I think we have a tendency to hold onto a lot of ideas and beliefs that seemed right at the time. Maybe some life and personal experience has given us a different perspective and it's time to jettison a few old (and now irrelevant) ideas or once firmly held beliefs.
Just a thought.

John <><

The End of a Long Day

Whew!
Ever have one of those days that just can't end soon enough?
That was today. There was lots of work to do, but things didn't go quite as planned. Of course no one ever plans on a little fender bender being a part of the day. That's why they call them accidents. If it was a planned part of the day, I guess we'd call them an on purpose.

It was hot and humid (typical June day in the Ozarks), I was running behind schedule, and wasn't really thrilled about the pending $1100 dollar repair bill that's in my future to fix someone else's car.
Yeah, it was my fault.

But I got to end my day with the good folks at Downtown Venues.
As I've said before, I don't interact with very many people at Downtown Venues. It's just a good place to go and feel some genuine Christ-like love. I've missed Sunday morning Venues for three weeks in a row now (twice preaching, one week we were in Chicago).
There is still work to do -- stuff I didn't get to today, but it feels like the world has been righted and I get to start over tomorrow.

If you had a great day today, I hope it carries over into tomorrow.
If your day was like mine, tomorrow brings a new day.
Heck! Tomorrow brings a whole new season!
Happy Summer Solstice!
I guess I need to include a Happy Winter Solstice for my friends and family Down Under!

As the dawn breaks on the new day, remember that God loves you and Jesus died for you.
And if you are already a follower of Jesus, remember to share that love with somebody else.

So long, Spring.
Welcome, Summer.

John <><

Weird Life Encounters

I had a few strange encounters with people last week. They were all re-encounters; seeing people that I hadn't seen in a while and don't really know well.

The first was Chris. Chris is my barber. I hadn't seen Chris in about a year. I'm not real diligent about keeping my hair cut and sometimes go a few months between visits to the barber, and the last several times that I've been in for a cut Chris wasn't there.

My first encounter with Chris was when I preached at a small country church. I didn't really meet him and would not have remembered him on my own. It was sometime after that when he began cutting hair at the barber shop I go to. My place in line put me in his chair and we began to talk. He remembered me and liked my style of preaching. I remembered him, too. The dude has a pretty righteous beard (noticeable enough on its own) and gauged earlobes aren't common is small, country, Baptists churches. He was no longer going to church. His wife had left him and marital problems are something that small, country, Baptists churches sometimes have a difficult time dealing with. Feeling more judgement than compassion, he stopped going to church altogether. Over the past few years we've talked about God, church, relationships, cigars, and life in general. I've always enjoyed my few minutes in the chair and generally skip my turn until his chair is open when he is there.

When I went in for an overdue haircut last week, he was there. He greeted me with a huge smile and a big hug. The only thing weird about it was that it seemed perfectly natural. A half dozen or so 15-20 minute conversations over several years had built enough of a relationship to warrant such a greeting after an extended absence. Maybe he enjoyed our conversations as much as I did!

*****

A couple of months ago I had some physical therapy done for my left shoulder. It turned out that my physical therapist was also the worship leader at a local baptist church. Naturally, the conversations during our sessions tended towards faith, living that out in the work place and in life. Just after I finished my sessions with Matt, I preached a revival at a church about 80 miles away. I was talking about sharing faith in life and mentioned my encounters with my physical therapist. After that service a man inquired about the physical therapist that was also a worship leader. It was his nephew!

Since I was going back to that church (last Sunday) to preach again, I thought I'd stop by and check in on Matt (the physical therapy place is only a mile from my house). He was working with a patient when I walked in, but saw me. I chatted with the receptionist until he could break away for a moment.
After just nine therapy sessions and a couple month absence, once again I was greeted with a hug. And once again I thought it was weird that it didn't feel weird at all.

*****

Both of those guys were young men -- 30ish. The last guy is closer to my age. Our daughters went to kids' church camps together and are now married. Clint and his family moved away and left our church many years ago. Other than going to the same church and having daughters the same age, we didn't really share much else and were never close friends. A chance encounter at Baptist Hill last weekend was still celebrated with a hug.

*****

The only thing these three encounters have in common is that each of the relationships with these three men was solidified because of personal relationships with God and common beliefs that Jesus is Lord and Savior. The last one I met through church. The others were just guys I met on the road of life.
On the one hand, I probably have far too few encounters like these.
On the other hand, each one is enough ... until the next one.

John <><

Submitting My Resignation

Today is my fifty-ninth birthday.
In reality, birthdays are no longer a big deal. After all, I've already had 58 of them (59 if you count the day I was born).

I have decided that I don't want to be a grumpy old man. I don't think I am ready to invite everybody over to walk barefoot in my yard, but I don't want to be the neighborhood curmudgeon that yells, "GET OFF MY LAWN!"

I think that I am becoming a little less grouchy than I once was. I seem more likely to make allowances for people's poor behavior than I used to. Realizing that nobody really cares about what I think about other people has given me the freedom not to judge others on how they look/act/think/talk/believe/etc./etc.
That doesn't mean that I'm very good at going out of my way to actually be nice to people. It's been a pretty big step just not to be mean or grumpy. I still need some work on the nice/kindness/loving part.

I am submitting my resignation as a Curmudgeon in Training.
Maybe I'll re-apply at a later date. Maybe not.
Life really is too short to be grumpy most of the time, so Don't Worry, Be Happy!



John <><

Home; Life in the Ozarks

It's good to be back home.
My alarm went off at 4:30 this morning. It was just a repeat from last week's alarm (that I forgot to disable) when I was up early to begin my week long trip. The early morning go was to give me a good night's sleep in my own bed before trekking to Metamora IL to go on a Drs appointment with my mom and dad. Unfortunately, I didn't get to bed until after midnight, so it was a short night.

Yesterday, I left Chicago with the intent of driving straight to the ballpark in Springfield to meet Hannah, Daniel, and members of The Venues at the Springfield Cardinals' game. It's pretty rare that I leave a ballgame early, but after sitting all day, I was ready to be home. I decided to walk around a bit, watched the seventh inning while mobile, and then walked back to where I parked and drove home.

I was up late (1am) watching a movie and managed to sleep until around 9 this morning (minus the early alarm interruption). I've got my laundry in and am enjoying my coffee while clicking away on my keyboard. Chris gets back this afternoon (she flew up to meet us on Saturday) and we'll settle back into our quiet, normal life in the Ozarks.
A light rain today will give me a good excuse for not mowing the lawn. I don't think I'll have that excuse available for tomorrow. No worries. It's not like I have to go to work or anything!

I do have Breakfast Venues Friday morning, an overnight camp (Friday/Saturday), and a message to finalize for the folks at FBC Richland on Sunday. Other than that, it's back to the easy life of a retired guy.

John <><

Back to the Windy City

I'm back in Chicago after a short visit with my parents. It was the usual visit to the doctors followed by a period of visiting. I ate way too much food but that's a usual consequence from visiting the 'rents.
I also had an opportunity to catch up with one of my high school classmates over a long lunch. There aren't many people from my past (near nor distant) that I've kept up with, so it was nice. Since he still lives in central Illinois, he updated me on a few of our old classmates.

After over indulging for the first couple of days of this week's travels, I opted for lighter menu options yesterday. A veggie panini and chips for lunch and a farmers hash (kind of a cooked salad) for dinner. I'm not sure what today will hold, but I'm sure it will be more moderate. In any event, I'm in Chicago so it will be tasty!

Chris will be arriving here tonight and we'll all be going to the Cards/Cubs game at Wrigley tomorrow. The game was originally scheduled as an afternoon game, but has now been moved to an evening game. That kind of stinks since it will overlap the Blues Game 6 in the Stanley Cup Series.
Sacrebleu!
If the hockey game was on NBCSN I could watch it on my phone at the ballpark, but Game 6 is on NBC and that's not on my Sling programming. I guess I'll listen to the radio broadcast and hope to find a nearby sports bar to see the end of the hockey game after the baseball game is over.

Ah ... first world problems!

Today will be an easy day. We'll get about whenever we get going this morning. I think we'll try to catch a ballgame of one of my nephews this afternoon and then find a place where we can watch tonight's UFC fights.
Yes, this retired life is a good life!

What's up for your weekend?

John <><

Using Magic to Understand Following Jesus

There's a saying in magic --
Practice what is hard until it becomes easy.
When it becomes easy, practice until it becomes second nature (natural).
When it becomes natural, practice until it becomes magical!

Following Jesus is not easy.
It isn't natural for us to love our enemies or care for those that are different than we are.
It isn't natural for us to put others ahead of ourselves or our family and friends (our community).
It isn't natural for us set aside our desire for more material things and for greater status and success in order to make others our priority.
And yet, that is what Jesus instructs us to do.

What if we took a magician's approach?
What if we "practiced" our Christianity by making the focused effort to work on loving others until it becomes easier? We can start with those closer to us and work our way up to the people we don't like and eventually, to the people that don't like us.
What if we quit seeing people from the perspective of us vs. them, and saw each person as a being created in the image of God?
What if we stop viewing people through the filter of nationalism and remember that the Kingdom of God has no borders?

When Paul wrote to the Galatians, he said that in Jesus there are no Jews and Gentiles (national borders), neither slave nor free (class divisions or status), nor is there male and female (Are you listening SBC?). He says that we are all one (equal) in Christ Jesus.

What if we begin to work on seeing people the way God sees them?
I know it is difficult and will take some practice. But it should get easier along the way. If we can see God's image in them, it should become natural to love them.
Once it becomes natural for us to see them as God sees them, and love them as God loves them, we will be well on our way to being more like Jesus.

Too often, we see God through human eyes.
It should be our goal that we would see humans through God's eyes.
This is going to take some practice.

John <><

Looking Ahead to June (and beyond)

I am looking forward to the month of June.
For one thing -- Summer!
I am a summer person. You can have your spring rains and cool nights. You can enjoy the dying earth during during the fall or the cold of winter. Give me sunshine and warmth!

I also have a couple of preaching events coming up in June; two kids' camps and pulpit supply at a local country church. The camps are for very young kids. One is a day camp. The other is an overnight camp, but just for one night. I really like working with the camp staff at Baptist Hill. The Director and Camp Administrator are just great people. The summer staff is usually made up of college kids that work their collective butts off to make sure that each group of kids that comes through Baptist Hill during the summer has a good, safe, learning experience and lots of fun.

I'll be making another trip to Chicago, this time for a Cubs/Cards ballgame.
Aaron and I will find a place to watch the UFC 238 fights rather than spending the money on tickets to the event. With any luck, we can watch the Blues win the Stanley Cup in a Game 6 home win after seeing the Cards beat the Cubs in a Sunday afternoon game.

About mid-month I'll complete my 59th trip around the sun.
When I turned 53, I was at my heaviest weight. I decided that I needed to lose 54 pounds in my 54th year. I actually lost 60 pounds.
In the last five years, I've managed to gain it all back, plus a couple of bonus pounds. I've been fortunate that I haven't yet suffered any major health issues due to my weight. The main thing is joint pain (knees and ankles) from being so danged heavy.

So here I go again...
Sixty pounds in my 60th year.
It's only 5 pounds per month; a little over a pound per week.
I'll be tracking progress over at Healthy Living (by an unhealthy guy).
I know! My overall track record shows more starting and stopping than continued success. But I also know that it can be done. So here's to a renewed commitment to busting the 200 pound mark by my 60th birthday and being a much healthier guy.

John <><

Recharging: Getting energy or inspiration

Where do you go or what do you do to recharge?
Do you...
...go to a place?
...meet with certain people?
...get away from people?
...do a certain activity?
...just get some rest or sleep?

Today is Thursday.
Thursday means Downtown Venues meets tonight.
Downtown Venues is one of my recharge places.

It's a different sort of place. I have mentioned that I don't usually recharge around other people. The people at Downtown Venues (and the people of The Venues in general) are different than most people. There is an overall feeling of acceptance and safety. In fact, it is interesting to observe new people that come to Downtown Venues, people that venture into a new place with guards up and postured for defense against the normal societal biases and church people biases ... but they don't find them. They find people that welcome them. They feel this positive energy that just fills the place. They feel something that they are not sure of; something that is out of place in a bar or even in a typical church.
It often takes a while, maybe even a couple of visits before they recognize that it is genuine acceptance and love. Story after story from people of The Venues tell of the joy of finding a place where they can worship and serve God after having been rejected or judged by other churches, people, or places. In some stories you can feel the past pain. In some, it is the emotional joy of finding a place to call home that grabs you.

In the end, as much as I learn from the messages at Downtown Venues, and as much as I enjoy the various musicians that perform, I go for the spiritual energy that feeds my soul. I will usually only interact with a few of the people that are there. I usually sit alone (unless someone happens to join me). It is an hour that I don't mind being a taker, recharging my soul.

Come join us if you can.
We meet at Ernie Biggs from 6:30 to 7:30.
There are some snacks and soft drinks or you are welcome to buy a beer or drink from the bar.
I think the most difficult thing about being accepted for who you are is having to learn to accept others as they are.
Be prepared to grow.

John <><

Chicago

I spent last weekend in Chicago. I drove up to go to the Bellator fights at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont. I stopped on the way up for a quick visit with my parents and made my way to Chicago on Friday afternoon to meet up with Aaron. We soon found ourselves at the Lagunita's taproom where I had my usual sandwich for dinner -- the Lagunita's Hogunitas! It is a meaty sandwich of pulled pork, ham, and bacon, and it is delicious! I assume they have other good food there, but this is my go-to sandwich and I honestly can't remember if I've ever had anything else to eat there.

I had an interesting conversation with the woman that was seated next to me (we were sitting at the bar). She asked me if I was from Chicago because she was new to the area and was looking for a comedy club for her and her boyfriend to visit. I referred her to my daughter in law, Jenny and they figured out a place to go. Kelly (the young woman) is from Belgium and is a flight attendant for United. She moved to Chicago to get better flight assignments. Her boyfriend (Jordan) was visiting from New Zealand. I had Jenny give Kelly her number so they can connect and maybe help her get acquainted with Chicago. It was kind of weird, but when we left she gave me a hug. Must be a European thing.
We walked the two blocks back to the kids' place and settled in for the night. We watched baseball on TV and Aaron ordered out for more food.

Saturday was a lazy day. After coffee at the condo, we made our way to another favorite place -- Haymarket Pub and Brewery. And yes, I had my normal brunch entree -- The Morning Riot! The Riot is my go-to sandwich at Haymarket, and the Morning Riot is what I get for brunch. I have had a couple of other sandwiches there, but for brunch it has always been The Morning Riot.
We ran a few errands and were back at the condo for a little bit before we were off to the fights.

I always enjoy going to the fights with Aaron. This was my first time at a Bellator event. The co-main event and the main event were both great fights. There was a little bit of controversy about the stoppage in the main event, but after watching several replays, I think it was justified.
During the night of fights, Aaron and I were keeping tabs on the Blues via our phones. There was also a UFC ppv event going on.
As the Bellator main event was getting started, Aaron said "There's a Dave and Buster's 11 minutes away. When this is over, we can hurry over there and catch the main event for the UFC fights."
We actually got to see the end of one fight, the co-main event, and the main event.

The kids had a couple of softball games on Sunday afternoon. It was about 45f (7c), overcast, and a cool wind coming in off the lake. It didn't feel like softball weather.
After the game, they took me to a different local brewery/restaurant, Dry Hop. I made up for the meaty sandwich of Friday night by having a vegetarian Reuben! It was a very good sandwich. The corned beef of a typical Reuben was replaced by a portabella mushroom. The main flavor profile came from the cabbage slaw and dressing. I'm not sure that I would all it a Reuben, but it was a tasty sandwich.
We visited in the evening and watched a Netflix movie.

Monday morning I was on my way home.
It was a good weekend.

I'll be back in a couple of weeks for the UFC fights and for a Cubs/Cards game at Wrigley. Chris will be with us for the ballgame.

Retirement does not suck.

John <><