Reunion Weekend

I’m riding backseat on the way home from our weekend reunion. You’ve got to love the convenience of a laptop and a cell phone internet connection!

As we make our way back to Ozark, all of the others disperse to different areas of the country. This was the first time in a very long time that everyone has made it home for a gathering of the Jerry/Leticia Hill clan.

Theresa, Mike and Justin are on their way home to Oklahoma City with Jason returning to Florida tomorrow. My family just made a pit stop at Ted Drewes in St. Louis on our way home to Southwest Missouri. Steve, Laura and Austin are making the long trek home to Maryland (DC area). Mike, Christine, Andrew and the triplets (Tyler, Ben and Zach) should be at home in Bolingbrook IL by now. Mary, Chris, Amelia, Joe and Haley are probably back in their un-air conditioned home in Indianapolis. And Pat, Jeanna, Grace and Ryan are heading back to Norfolk VA after making the detour to Rockford IL to drop off Morgan and Amber for a few weeks. That will leave Mom and Dad to a much quieter home than it’s been in the past week and I think that all of us could use a good rest!

If you weren’t counting, it is six of us that are siblings, five spouses, seventeen grandkids and the two responsible for the family—30 all-in-all. I really do love my family. The kids (cousins) get along very well in spite of the fact that they rarely see each other. I know that all of the moms and dads are extremely proud of their kids (and they ought to be!). Our kids range in ages from 29 to 2 and interact remarkably well with each other. And although we do a fair job of keeping up with each other via e-mail updates, there isn’t anything like actually getting together.

We are separated by time zones, live in small towns and big cities, have diverse political views, go to different churches and have varying degrees of education. It is very apparent that we all love our kids a great deal. We love each other and each other’s kids, too.

“One big happy family” is the understatement of the century. Oh, we have our struggles and our stresses, to be sure. But they cannot diminish the feeling that I get when we are together.

To Mom and Dad, who will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary this fall: Well done!

John

Something with Meat, Please

So having been taunted by fellow blogger, David Stone, I thought that perhaps it's time for a post with a bit more meat in it. Looking back over the past couple of months, I can see that I haven't posted much in the way of anything very meaningful. Mostly, it's because I haven't felt like devoting the time it takes to do much more that report past happenings.



So here are some thoughts/rants from a study that I'm working on:



The topic is taken from a conversation that Jesus had with His closest followers and is found in the 16th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. I think that the questions that Jesus asks his followers then are questions that He asks us (assuming we are His close followers) now.



"Who do men say that I am?" is the first question that He asks.



I believe that it is important for us to know where others stand in regard to their belief of Jesus if we are to share with them the Jesus that we know. In the evangelism series Sharing Jesus Without Fear, the question is asked, "Who is Jesus, to you?" Something tells me that Jesus had a pretty good idea of what others were saying about Him.



Teachers always seem to be asking questions that they already know the answer to as a way of getting their students to investigate or as way to find out what we know. In battle, it is said, “Know your enemy.” Jesus wants for us to know what others are thinking. If we don’t know, we should ask. The question "Who is Jesus, to you?" is a way to let somebody express what they have heard and what they believe about Jesus.

This is not the point at which you begin to argue with them, criticize their opinions/beliefs or persuade them that you are right and they are wrong. You have asked them for information and they have given it to you. Be polite.

In the Bible, the disciples answered with things that they had heard others saying about Jesus. Maybe you've been listening to what others have been saying about Jesus. Maybe you've looked to what different religions are saying about Jesus. Maybe you are trying to figure out who this Jesus person really is. When so many experts are saying so many different things about who he is, who do you believe? How do you know who you can trust? What makes one religion right and another one wrong? And if you are the one sharing Jesus, why should anyone trust you?

These are all valid questions. The question "Who do men say that I am?" can have many different answers. But the second question that Jesus asks, "Who do you say that I am?" or the question that somebody else might ask you, "Who is Jesus to you?" can really have only one answer. And the reality of who Jesus is, also has only one answer.

I would encourage each reader to investigate the claims of the Bible. Investigate the claims of Jesus. I believe that it is vital for you to figure out this Jesus thing. I believe that it is a matter of life and death, of heaven and hell. I know that you may not even believe in heaven or hell. You may not believe in God or an afterlife. But if these things are real, then your not believing in them won't change the consequences of a God-less life.

If you have questions, ask. Feel free to e-mail me direct or to post a comment. I don't know all of the answers, but I'll gladly share what I believe to be true.

John

Happy Birthday!

Today, July Fourth, is my dad's birthday. We have always celebrated it with friends, family and a free nation by watching the fireworks displays. Happy Birthday, Dad.

To help in your celebration of America's birth, I highly recommend you read my friends blog from The Main Bang.

In the words of Russian immigrant and Branson entertainer, Yakov..."What a country!"

John

Hot Dog!

Okay, here it is. It's the dog report from our recent trip to several major league parks. I'll begin with the dogs at Chase Park in Phoenix from May. The dog itself was a good hotdog but there wasn't anything special about the condiments making it nothing more than a good hotdog.

I'll tell you that the Kansas City Royals had a very good dog. It has the potential to become my favorite except for two things; they grill their onions with peppers. The peppers make it look pretty but grilled peppers tend to be a bit bitter. And the onions need to be grilled a little longer to carmelize or they need to use a sweeter onion. If they would do those two things, they would have the best ballpark dog I've ever had. Topped with kraut and mustard...a ballpark masterpiece.

I was disappointed in the Wrigley Field dog. Their Chicago "style" dog was a far cry from a real Chicago Dog. I know that I would have had to pay more for a Vienna Beef dog and a genuine Chicago Dog but so what? The KC dog was $6.

Saturday at the Jake I'll have to admit that I passed on the Pound Hound. I think that I ate too much at the stop on the way or maybe was just not in the mood for a dog. I will say that it smelled great.

Great American park in Cincy was a different ballpark experience. It didn't feel like a ballpark and our bleacher buddies weren't the appetite enhancing neighbors.

By Monday at US Cellular in Chicago I was ready for a good dog and was rewarded for the wait. In spite of filling up on gyros and baklava in Greek Town, I powered down a great dog loaded with grilled onions and brown mustard. The only complaint here was that you could only get kraut at the brat stand and even then, it cost extra!

At Milwaulkee I skipped the dog and went for the Polish Sausage and kraut. It was pretty fine cuisine but I'm not sure how to compare it to the dogs. For the most part, I go for the dogs.

Aaron loves a good brat and said that the KC brat was the best. Cincy had a good brat and to my surprise,he was disappointed with the brat in Milwaulkee.

Overall, whether by prejudice or just good taste, my favorite dog was the one I was waiting for in St. Louis. I'm not talking about the concession stand dog. You have to get these Kosher babies at their own little grilling cart. The kosher dog with grilled onions and kraut are absolutely the best. I can tell you that I've introduced a number of Cardinal fans to these babies and they ALWAYS go to the park looking for one of these dogs.

My ranking for the dogs:
St. Louis
Chicago (Sox)
KC
Arizona
Milwaulkee (Polish Sausage)
Chicago (Cubs)

Aaron's ranking on the brats:
KC
Cincinnatti
Milwaulkee

I should mention that Aaron also ranks the St. Louis Dog as #1 although he doesn't use the kraut!

Bon appetite,

John

2007 1/2

Wow! Can you believe it?! 2007 is half over as we turn the calendar page to July.

The halfway point is as good a place as any to pause long enough to see how we are doing on our goals/dreams/wants for the year.

I got to thinking the other day that it's been almost a year since I started blogging. If you've read that first post, you'll remember that I was supposed to be writing a book. So far, that hasn't happened. The desire to write that particular book hasn't changed so I guess it's time to make time and to get busy writing.

The first half of the year was a busy one with regards to ministry work. I had several revivals, conferences, magic shows, pulpit supply and a church camp. The second half looks to be filling up as well. God has been very good to me. Our local church is working through some growing pains as we look to move forward in God's Kingdom work and reach the community around us.

Even though these posts seldom seem to generate comments, I am encouraged to find that many of you are reading and make personal comments to me from time to time. My wife thinks that blogging is silly and wonders who would read the rants of one like me or any of the others that I check in on frequently. Sometimes I wonder the same thing!

The Bible Study/sermon that I'm working on currently is about two questions that Jesus asked to His closest followers in Matthew 16: Who do people say that I am? and Who do you say that I am? I believe that these are still relevant questions today and questions that we need to answer. I am looking forward to the study and to the opportunity to share the findings with others. My last message on producing fruit was one that I really enjoyed and I'll include the high points in a future post.

The time to head to church approaches so I'll close and post. Check back soon for more ramblings.

John

The Main Bang

Thought I'd mention a blog that I've added to the Blogs I Frequent section in the right-hand column. "The Main Bang" is written by friend, retired air traffic controller and former President of the Nation Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), John Carr. It has wide readership within the aviation field as John is a well respected and informed source of information.

Although I've been reading his page for some time, I never linked to it from my page. If you are travelling by air this summer and encounter the inevitible delays, you may be more interested in what is taking place at the FAA.

Aside from keeping you safe in the skies, NATCA would like for your flight to arrive on time. We've created a site to help you plan your trip and give you tips on how to avoid delays. While the FAA continues to say that there is no staffing crisis, we at little old Springfield MO (SGF) have scheduled overtime now and staffing requirements have dropped although traffic patterns haven't changed. The only thing that has changed from a year ago is that we are required to use an additional controller for the midnight watch and we've lost some controllers due to retirement and transfer. I guess that means that we don't need as many controllers watching the skies as we used to need.

SGF does have new controllers coming onboard, but with check-out times and future retirements, we're just maintain the status quo. Most larger facilities are not so fortunate.

In the grand scheme of air traffic control, SGF is pretty insignificant. To keep you posted on the BIG Picture, read The Main Bang.

John

Baseball (part 3)

We woke up a week ago at the campgrounds, showered, dressed and headed back to the Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Aaron bought breakfast as a Father's Day present and then we drove to Cincinnati. We were hoping to see Sammy hit number 600. Unfortunately, he didn't play except to pinch hit late in the game and hit into an inning ending force out. It was the middle game of the trip and honestly it was my least favorite experience.

I'm not sure what it was--it didn't smell like a ballpark. The fans that sat around us were the most rude and obnoxious of the week. It was an okay ballpark. It seemed odd that the outfield bleachers were in the upper deck. We sat in the left field bleachers once again and watched the Reds play like a last place team. They had several errors, the first we'd seen on our trip. The Texas Rangers won giving the American League a 2-1 advantage in the interleague games on our trip.

We spent the night at my sister's home in Indianapolis. It was great to visit with her family and beat spending another night in the van! Aaron and I both enjoyed playing with the kids and we look forward to seeing them again in a couple of weeks when we all head home to wish Mom and Dad a Happy 50th Anniversary. Once again, we started our Monday with a stop at Starbucks and headed back to the Windy City to watch the Southsiders take on the Florida Marlins.

We arrived in Chicago in time to take in lunch. When we couldn't find Vito's, a recommended pizzeria, we headed up to Greek Town for some great gyros and baklava. We were still early to the "Cell" and one of the first cars in the parking lot. We ran into a couple of guys with a great summer job. They travel from sporting event to event tailgating and handing out free stuff for their sponsors. Their current sponsor was Eckrich smoked sausage. They had a van equipped with a grill for cooking and T-shirts, seat cushions and other handouts. Apparently not all the arrangements had been made for them to cook at this event, so they were just handing out their free stuff.

We were a bit concerned about a possible rain out as there were some pretty heavy showers from time to time. The rain let up about the same time as they opened the gates and held off until just before gametime. Play started after a 20 minute delay and then the rain started again and continued for about two innings. The fans sitting next to us in the leftfield bleachers were real Sox fans with a full 81 game season ticket package. They had their scorebook pads and kept score at each game they attended. They enjoyed hearing about our trip but weren't impressed at all that we went to Wrigley! US Cellular Field had the best video board of all the parks we visited. They also had a great music/video history of the Sox and their baseball greats that led up to the player introductions. It was by far the best production and team presentation that we saw. The Cardinals should put together that kind of intro. It really builds the fan excitement and participation. The Sox beat the Marlins and we headed north to Milwaulkee.

Our plan was to find a hotel on the south part of the city and check in for two nights. We could sleep-in in the morning and then spend the night after the Brewers/Giants game before driving all day to St. Louis for the final game of the week. In the morning, we found a coffee house downtown and spent several hours at the Milwaulkee Public Museum. The city was very neat and pleasant and seemed to offer quite a bit of things to do.

We headed to Miller Park early, having been warned by our Sox friends that the parking was some distance from the field. Actually, it wasn't too bad. Of course we were at the front of the lot. It would've been a very long walk from the back of the lot. It was also the cheapest parking of trip at just $8. We had plenty of time to walk around the park while waiting for the gates to open. St. Louis must be one of only a few parks that opens two hours before game time. One and a half hours prior to the game seems to be more popular. While we were looking forward to seeing Barry Bonds, it was quite obvious that the city where Hank Aaron spent much of his career wasn't going to welcome the guy that was about to break the record. Even though Bonds was 0 for the game, batting practice was impressive. He hit a screaming line drive that hit a bleacher back just 10' to my left. It was in the seats in no time at all and I could hear it whizzing through the air. He later hit one out of the stadium. It went over the rightfield wall at the 374 mark, over the second level and out of the stadium. During the game, he was booed loudly at each plate appearance.

As much as I wanted the Giants to win (the Brewers lead the NL Central) it was Milwaulkee that won making it 3-3 for the home team. We headed back to the hotel for a good night's rest before making the long drive to St. Louis for the final game of the journey.

Leaving Milwaulkee, we took the first exit with a Starbucks and were on our way. The drive around Chicago was uneventful other than the construction congestion at the I55 exchange. We passed through Pontiac which brought back memories of track meets and buzzing Quik's in the school bus. Somewhere we stopped for lunch at a Steak'n'Shake and were downtown St. Louis with an hour to spare. We decided to park in the Stadium garage, but they weren't taking money for the game yet. We took our parking ticket from the machine and got a good spot not far from the exit ramp.

Aaron has found his spot for bp down the right field line. He has gotten a total of five bp balls in three games, two of them on this day. One was sent his way by Molina who later autographed it for him. Our seats were given to us by my controller friend Chad Wilson. They were awesome seats--outfield boxes, five rows from the wall in leftfield! The game was the game to end our week. Albert tied the game in the bottom of the ninth to send it into extra innings. Ryan Ludwig hit a 14th inning walk-off HR to win the game a mere 5 hours and 20 minutes after the opening pitch and Kip Wells (the same guy that did so badly in KC) pitched very well in relief and got the W.

Although we had invitations to spend the night in St. Louis, we were anxious to be home and had already decided to make the drive. Since the hour was late, there wasn't anyone manning the parking lot booth and so parking was free for the night! We made a stop at Jack in the Box and at White Castle (Ted Drewe's was closed) before getting on the road. I stopped part way for a short nap and pulled into the driveway in Ozark before 6 am.

It had been a very good week and we had been blessed with good weather, safe travels and great baseball! I'll write again to report on the stadiums, the dogs and other fun moments of our trip. Somebody asked me if I was tired of going to games yet. I think that I could do it every day of the summer! Too bad that life calls on us and demands our attention as well.

John

Baseball (part 2)

Fortunately, Aaron has recently joined the world of coffee drinkers with his discovery of cafe breva. A breva is a cappuccino made with half and half instead of milk. Consequently, we started our Saturday with a stop at Starbuck's and were soon on our way to the Jake in Cleveland.

I like the city of Cleveland. I was there a few of years ago for our NATCA Convention. We parked in a downtown parking lot similar to what one might find in St. Louis and only had to walk a couple of blocks to the field. The ballpark is easy to get to and our leftfield bleacher seats were great. It was a beautiful day for a late afternoon game. John Smoltz and the Atlanta Braves outplayed the Indians to give the National League another interleague win.

Just as the Cardinals have their bronze statue of "Stan the Man," Cleveland has their Hall of Famer Bob Feller immortalized outside of the stadium. As a kid, I remember hearing about Feller and wondering about could anyone hit a 100mph fastball! Today I wonder more about how they timed his pitch.

Feller owns some of baseball's great stats. He is the only pitcher to have ever throw an opening day no-hitter. He had three no-hitters in his career along with twelve one-hitters. At the age of 17, he struck out 15 St. Louis Browns in his first Major League outing. That same season, he set an American League record of 17 strikeouts in a game and two years later broke it by setting a Major League record of 18 strikeouts in a nine inning game. Two days after the attack on Pearl harbor (at the peak of his career), he enlisted in the Navy. The three and a half years of service to his country during WW II probably kept him from holding many of baseballs records. The year after returning to baseball, 1946, he set a Major League record of 348 strikeouts for the season.

We headed for the opposite corner of Ohio to Cincinnatti's Great American Ballpark. Actually our plan was to find a campground near Columbus to spend the night. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel for dinner and then managed to get the very last available site at a state park north of Columbus. The lady at the campgrounds was incredibly helpful and went out of her way to help us. Our site was near the bathroom/shower area and made for an quick and easy out in the morning. Aaron bought my Father's Day breakfast at the same Cracker Barrel and we were on the road again, hoping to see Sammy Sosa hit number 600--but that's a story for another day.

John

The Baseball Trip

Well we are back at home in Ozark. Aaron and I had a great week and it feels as if I should be at a baseball game tonight! I don't think that I would ever get tired of going to the ballpark to watch a game.

We managed seven games in seven different ballparks in six different cities in seven days. I haven't totalled the number of miles or the money spent on hotdogs, brats, and sodas. We spent two nights in the van, one at my sister's house, three nights in a hotel room and the last night on the road home.

The week began with the Cardinals taking a beating in Kansas City. As is normal, they charge a little bit more for the tickets for the Cardinal series and there are as many (if not more) red shirted Cardinal fans as there are blue shirted Royal fans. Card's pitcher Kip Wells had a terrible outing and the Royals took advantage and routed the Cardinals. We had seats in the upper level, down the leftfield line. The guys sitting next to me had a 21 game season ticket package and thought that our trip was really cool. He said that his boss was a big baseball fan and that when he got to work the next day to tell his boss about our trip that his boss would want to do something like that someday. As we left the game and were walking out to the car, I realized that me phone was missing. We turned to try to get back into the stadium to look for it and Aaron called my phone. A guy answered and he and his girlfriend had been sitting right in front of us. Fortunately, he saw my phone and had called our house to tell them that he was going to turn it in at the office. Since Aaron called, we met in the parking lot and I got my phone back. I should note that they are Cardinal fans. That's only important if you have seen my phone.

I'm not sure if a Royals fan would have returned it!

We knew that the trip to Wrigley was going to be about nine hours and we only had about thirteen hours from the time we got out of the parking lot to game time in Chicago. We drove until we got to Des Moines and then parked at a truckstop and slept in the van for about three hours. Then Aaron drove and I napped a little bit more until we got closer to Chicago. We took the scenic drive along Lake Shore Drive and got to Wrigley about noon for the 1:15 game time. Wrigley Field is classic baseball. It's as if you've stepped into a time machine. One can easily see where the phrase "the friendly confines of Wrigley Field" comes from. It lacks a video board for replays, an electronic scoreboard and many other ammenities found in newer parks. Never the less, it's a great place to watch a ball game.

Our seats were upper level down the right field line. Afterwards, we went down to the first row of seats and you are really at field level. It is an incredibly intimate kind of park. The Cubbies came away with a win over the Padres.

It took about two and a half hours to make our way into northwest Indiana as we made our way toward Cleveland for the game on Saturday afternoon. We made it an easy night on ourselves by stopping fairly early and spending the night in a hotel in Southbend. We had plenty of time to make the 3:55 game time at Jacob's Field.

Rather than making this an extremely long post and taking forever to write it, I'm goin to post this as it is and post more later.

John

"Take me out to the ballgame!"

Kid's Camp

I have just finished a very fun week as Camp Pastor for the Tri-County Association's Children's Camp. The facilities and the staff at Baptist Hill were awesome. Click here and scroll down to Missouri.

I really appreciate the Tri County office and Ms. Janet giving me the opportunity to do more than come in for a night of magic. We did have a night of magic as well as a couple of other great guests!

The kids (150+) were great. With that number of kids from varied backgrounds, you would expect to have some conflicts and disciplinary problems, but they were few and not too severe. The cabin leaders and all of the volunteers were a joy to work with. There were classes, crafts, activities and of course, swimming! God blessed us with great weather and wonderful temps. The music and worship time was incredible. Cindy Fry and her daughters really got the kids pumped up! They were all having a great time with songs that taught lessons as well as praising our God.

Pastor Mike (Camp Pop) and Ms. Mary (Camp Mom) had their hands full and yet served us with smiles on their faces and with words of encouragement to all of the kids and cabin leaders.

Several kids made first time professions of faith and there were also some rededications. I'll have to wait to find out the exact numbers. In the end, it is my hope that we all managed to get a little closer to God and that He alone receives the glory and honor for the work that was done.