Thanksgiving

This is the scene that greeted us on Sunday morning.  It was fascinating to see the water bubbling up and filling the ditch in front of our home.  I had never seen water gushing out of the street.  We called and soon the city superintendent and the city water supervisor showed up.  They told me that a water main had broken.  One of the things that led to its demise was how dry the ground was - there was a lot more flex to it.  When we got home from church they had dug it up and repaired the breach.

I told them that watching the water gush had reminded me of Jed Clampett whose errant shot at a rabbit had made him a wealthy man.  But, this was not Texas Tea or Black Gold.  But, it was something very valuable.  Water - clear, cool, drinkable, life-giving water.

I do not give much thought to the fact that for me to get water from my kitchen sink requires a whole system to function properly and efficiently.  There are pipes and pressures and people that keep everything in working order.  It would be hard to be without it - just ask some of the people who live along the northern portion of the eastern seaboard.  Being thankful means noticing and recognizing that every good and perfect gift comes from above and this includes water.  I am seeking to cultivate a heart of gratitude.  So, thank the Lord for the supply of water and the people who keep it flowing and the pipes that bring it to my house.    

Promises, Promises

A little over a month ago, we had an amazingly vivid rainbow appear over Gibson City.  The photo does not do it justice.  Rainbows remind us of promises - in particular God's promise to not destroy the world again by flood - although the poor folks on the East coast may be wondering about this.  

I have been thinking about promises.  Currently, I am reading Living Into Community which is written by Christine Pohl.  I recommend the book.  It is about cultivating practices that are sustaining to us.  One of those practices she addresses is promise keeping.  Negatively she says: "When we break promises, we also betray relationships and erode community. Small betrayals often do a surprising amount of damage.  They involve other broken practices - deception instead of speaking the truth, absence instead of welcome, grumbling and envy instead of gratitude".   Ouch.  Promise keeping can be complex.  But, in most of our worlds, we need to make the call we promised to make, stay faithful to the mate we promised to stay faithful to, pray for the person we promised to pray for, and honor the Lord we vowed to honor.  

The book has been a wonderful reminder for me.  And, it makes me eternally grateful that God keeps His promises.

Family

Brother Tim with daughter Lydia and her husband Tyler

Recently, we were blessed to have family visit.  My brother came up from Louisiana so he could go to my son's football game and we could catch up on all that is going on in each of our lives.  We spent a day hiking at Starved Rock and an evening at my daughter's home enjoying a nice meal together.  It was a great visit. 

The weekend after my brother came, my wife's parents came.  It is an 8 hour trip for them and I really appreciate them making the drive over.  We went to another football game and back to Lydia's again for supper.  It was an additional blessing to have my oldest son and his wife join us.  

I am thrilled when everyone can be together.  There is a lot of laughter and it usually involves some great food.  These visits are treasures not to be taken for granted.  Family is something that you value more the older you get.  They are a gift from the Lord.  

I am grateful for my "physical" family and I am grateful for my "spiritual" family - my brothers and sisters in Christ.  It is also good when we get together.  Like all families, we have our moments.  Ultimately, we are bound together in Christ.  This morning I read in the book of 1 Peter Sympathize with each other.  Love each other as brothers and sisters.  Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.  May it be so.

Gifts - A Ride in the Past

Thomas a Kempis: "Be thankful for the smallest blessing . . . Value the least gifts no less than the greatest, and the simple graces as especial favors.  If you remember the dignity of the Giver, no gift will seem small or mean, for nothing can be valueless that is given by the most high God."

I am a blessed man.  Two weeks ago Eric J offered me the opportunity to take a ride with him in a Ford Tri-Motor.  This particular airplane is 83 years old and is owned and operated by the Kalamazoo Air Zoo.  They did an amazing job in restoring it.  The Tri-Motor was built as a passenger plane.  Later, it proved to be a reliable cargo plane.  Some were used as forest fire fighters.  About 200 were made.

The plane is noisy but comfortable.  I loved the sound of the three reciprocating engines.  We took off from the Bloomington airport and trundled over the city.  It was not hard to image that we were back during the "golden age" of flying.  Ten people could be seated in the airplane at once - not including the pilot and co-pilot.  There was no in-flight entertainment or service!  The flight lasted about 20 minutes.

This is the second vintage airplane I have flown in and both times it was through the kindness and generosity of others.  I was thrilled with the flights. I am humbled by the kindness of the Gifts.  Thanks, Eric, for an amazing afternoon.  Remember - you can click on the pics for a larger version.

Trucks

We like trucks.  In particular, we like these two trucks.  Typically, they would be considered "enemies".  A Ford and Chevy - not usually seen together.  One is mine (Chevy) and one is Aaron's (my 16 year old son)  (Ford).  They both come with a lot of baggage - good baggage.  Mine was bought new by my father, was the vehicle I learned to drive in, was owned by my brother, and now resides at my house.  It is a tangible link to a different time in my life and to someone I dearly loved but can no longer visit.  I may drive it, but it is still - in many ways - my dad's.  The Ford belonged to my daughter-in-law's grandfather.  We bought it from her grandmother after her grandfather had passed away.  His wife stood in the street and wept as we drove away but was consoled by knowing it was going to be kept in the family.  Jamey's father (my daughter-in-law) had driven the truck to his job on a daily basis.  He also passed away last year.  Both trucks are haunted by memories and filled with histories.  But, that is okay.  We drive them with gratitude and with the realization they will probably never really be ours. 

Blade

We saw these on a recent trip to Indiana.  They were on a train - and there were LOTS of them - I only captured the last of them with my phone camera.  It was a bit of a strange sight to pass all of these blades on a train - a place where they really do not fit. (Push the "play" button to see the video"

I am not sure how I feel about the windmills now populating the surrounding farm ground.  I don't like the way they look, but I do find them intriguing.  I am grateful for the jobs they have provided.

They are one thing to see from a distance, but a whole different thing to stand under one and listen to the "swishing" of the blades.  It gives me a bit of vertigo to stand right at their base.  They look robotic - sentinenals to progress.  I wonder what the folks who farmed the ground 50 years ago would think about it.  

Today

 

I took this picture through my telescope.  It was an American Airlines passenger jet headed south over my house late in the afternoon.  The technology amazes me - all of that weight cruising through the air at 30,000 feet going 550 mph.  It is phenominal. 

 

But, it is not simply a machine.  It is a vehicle full of people.  People going on vacation, people going to a funeral or a wedding, people who have business to do in another state, people who have never flown before and people for whom this is a weekly occurence.  Who are these people?  They are just like our neighbors, they are just like us.

 

And so it was, 11 years ago today, that people boarded these technological wonders never anticipating that they would be used as weapons.  Some of those people are now famous, but most are not and never will be.  They were ordinary people doing ordinary things who got caught in an extra-ordinary event.

 

It is not for nothing (forgive the double negative) that the Bible tells us to take it one day at a time.  This is the day the Lord has made.  Teach us, Lord, to number our days that we may apply our hearts toward wisdom.

 



Growing Up Poor

It seems to me that a recent theme of politicians is to proclaim how poor their parents were.  More often than not, candidates declare that their parents or grandparents immigrated to this country and rose up from the ashes of poverty to make something of themselves.  It is a commendable story.  But, it is not an uncommon story.  Most of us who are now middle-aged could probably repeat the same account.  I know that I could.  Both of my parents grew up very poor.  But, lots of Americans were very poor in the 20s and 30s.  The "Great Depression" was as devastating as it was wide spread.  The years following the second world war provided economic opportunity.  My mother became a nurse and my father became a fireman in the Air Force.  Both had "successful" careers and retired much more financially comfortable than their parents.  As a result, my brother and I grew up with a lot more than did my parents.  

Did my parents live the "American Dream"?  Yes, if that dream is one of being more prosperous than their parents or grandparents.  Did they work hard to provide a better lifestyle for their kids?  Again, I am grateful to say "yes".  I am very thankful for what they provided.  I had and have opportunities they did not have and I don't take those for granted.

But, to hear it told these days, financial prosperity or at least the opportunity to obtain financial prosperity is the greatest thing America has going for it.  It is arrogant for someone who has not lived in grinding poverty and felt the effects of hunger, lack of medical care, and unsafe housing to say that he hopes we have something more to offer the world than money and the opportunity to make it.  But, I do hope such a thing. Without character, money can become terribly corrupting.  

Here is a photo of the house my Mom grew up in until she was a teenager.  It did not look much better than this when she lived there.

Blue Moon

"Once in a blue moon" is an old cliche expressing the rarity of an event.  On the average, a "blue moon" happens every 2.7 years.  It depends on who you ask, but most would say that a blue moon is when there are two full moons in a single month.  That celestial event occurs this month, August 2012.  To be specific, it transpires this Friday, August 31st.  The weather is calling for clouds and rain.  But, if there is an opening in the night sky - slip out and look at the blue moon.  Here is a picture I took of a full moon from last year - I happened to have colored it blue.  Blue moons are the same color the moon always is.

Moon Struck

I love looking at the moon.  A lot of folks who look through telescopes are most excited when there is a "new moon" which means there is no moon visible during the night.  The light of the moon tends to wash out the light of distant nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters.  In other words, the darker the night sky the better.

But, God made the moon as the lesser light to rule the night.  There is nothing quite like a full moon on a clear night when the ground is covered with snow.  And when the moon is waxing, like it was like week when I took this photo, it shows amazing detail along the lunar limb - the edge of the visible surface.  Click on the photo to enlarge it and look at some of the detail.  Some have even photographed lunar impacts - an amazing feat.  

Neil Armstrong died this past weekend.  I remember clearly where I was when he stepped onto the surface of the moon.  It was a long way from Melder, Louisiana to Tranquility Base.  But, somehow, there was a connection - a human one.  A man was on another planet.  You cannot see what is left of his lunar lander through my telescope.  But, you can see the mare where he and Buzz landed.  And, you can try to  imagine what it must have been like to step onto its surface.  

Go out and look up.  The moon is a wonderful sight to behold. Sometimes God's greatest creations are too easily overlooked.

For the Birds

The Lord told us to be bird watchers.  We are to observe the sparrows and from them learn lessons about God's care for us.  Birds are fun.  Like humans, they tend to come in all different shapes and sizes.  I try to provide food plots (wildflowers and bird feeders) and water so as to attract birds to my yard.  I am delighted when we have yellow finches stop by.  They seem particularly attracted to our sunflowers.  

We also have doves dropping in for visits.  They like to park on this wire in the backyard.  I love the sound of their "cooing".  It is rather melancholic.

  

And, we get hummingbirds.  They make me smile.  The honeysuckle brings them in as does the butterfly bush.

All these birds are gifts from the Lord to remind us of His creative power, His love of beauty, and His daily providential care.  Do some bird watching these late summer days.

And, take your camera when you do so.  I photographed all these in my yard - birds can be shy so you may need to be sly.

Let It Rain!

We were delighted last evening to look out and see a rainbow.  Rainbows are free pleasures - God's gift - a symbol of grace.  I took this picture at the end of our street looking west.  Rainbows mean rain and the rain did and was falling.

We have a greater appreciation for rain these days.  The drought has made us (me?) take it a lot less for granted.  The rain falls on the just and the unjust says the Scripture.  And, the drought also comes to the just and the unjust.  I don't know that I understand or can explain the why of either.  This summer, some folks have gotten rain that others could only see from a distance.  You cannot lasso a rain cloud and pull it over your farm.  

There is something refreshing about rain.  It seems to cleanse the air and the earth.  There is a certain smell that comes with rain and the reduced temperatures are nice as well.  I hoped it rained at your house.  And, I hope that I am more conscious of rain in the days to come.  It is a blessing from above for which I want to offer thanks.

Election Selection?

This year my brother and I visited the National Museum of the United States Air Force which is located in Dayton, Ohio.  If you read the post below, you will recognize that it was something my wife insisted on.  

While there, we climbed aboard Sam 2600 - Air Force One to President Kennedy and President Johnson.  It was cool to think about the places this jet had been.  And, it was also a bit sad - it was the means of bringing President Kennedy's body from Texas to Washington in the fall of 1963.

My brother took this "presidential" picture as I exited the plane this Spring.  You can see the seal of the president on the door.  I could not resist giving the peace sign - in honor of the imagery of President Nixon as he departed the White House.

Who are you going to vote for President in November?  It is a privilege to be part of the process.  The president has some awesome perks including a jet in which to tool around the world.  He does not have to wait in line, take his shoes off for security, sit in cramped seats next to a guy who is either snoring or talking your ear off.  He gets good food, has the bathroom to himself, and gets priority placement when it comes to landing and taking off.  But, with those perks comes some heavy responsibilities and risks.  It is amazing how being president seems to age people dramatically.  We are exhorted in the Scripture to pray for them.  Governments are raised up by God and governments are put down by God.  Ultimately, it is to Him that we look for our help and our strength.

Musuem

On our recent 30th anniversary trip, my wife insisted that we stop at the Robbins AFB museum just outside of Macon, Georgia.  No matter where we go she seems to be able to sniff out these collections of airplanes.  She compels me to stop - and then finds a shade tree where she can read a good book.  I am left to peruse the artifacts of the museum all alone - not something I particularly enjoy.  It would be much better were she by my side - sighing the whole time, looking at her watch, and trying not to fall asleep on her feet.  Her enjoyment and ecstasy is almost uncontrollable at airplane museums.

If your wife loves air plane museums, I would encourage you to stop at the one by Robbins AFB.  They have a wonderful collection.  It is one of the cleanest museums in which I have been and the people who volunteer/work there are wonderful.

If you get there soon after they open - which is when Connie really wanted to be there - you have the whole museum practically to yourself.  It was a bit lonely walking among all of these amazing airplanes without anyone sighing or rushing me, but, I figured that I would do it - for her.

I happen to like museums as well.  It is intriguing to get up close and personal with all sorts of things - in this case very complex machines that did some very amazing things.  But, there is also a certain melancholy at a museum.  These are stabled horses which will never roam the ranges again.  Churches must not become museums   They can - if we do not allow the Spirit to have His way with us.  He brings life - and that more abundantly.

Here is one last photo of Connie joyfully standing near a B-1B - at least that is what she told me it was.  Doesn't she look happy?

This is the porch on a cabin near Asheville, N.C.   Connie and I recently met some friends here and visited for a few days - often on this porch.  For me, it was the best part of the cabin.  It was a place to visit, to read, to look out and see the woods around us.

When we moved to Gibson City, my wife had prayed for a house with a porch.  The Lord graciously answered her prayer.  She loves it and I love it.  This summer, it has been a bit hot to sit there during the day.  But, the mornings and evenings on it are nice.

Porches are good for us.  They invite us to leave the confines of our homes and step out.  I will never allow a television on the porch.  We do sometimes listen to some music while sitting there.  Porches help us to see the world around us.  Our neighbors may even get to know us  through the vehicle of the porch.

My dad was a porch sitter.  He especially enjoyed a porch after a rain or late in the afternoon.  Rocking chairs were invented for porches.  So was ice tea.  I hope you are able to enjoy a porch.  If not, you can come and borrow ours some time.

Planets

I am writing this in early March.  Last evening, while I was walking Hoss the Boss, I was thrilled to note that I could see four planets.  Low in the West was Mercury.  Up higher, again in the West, was Jupiter and Venus.  When I turned and faced the East - I could see the rusty colored planet Mars.  Four planets on one walk!  It was awesome.  Be sure and go out on a clear night and look for yourself.

I took the above photo was in late February.  In it, you can see the Pleiades and Taurus the Bull.  The Pleiades (also known as the Seven Sisters) are low and center.  Taurus looks like an arrow head pointing downward to the left of the Pleiades.

"Bonjour"!

Cheese Course

In late October, Connie and I had a delicious treat.  Our dear friend, Don Foster, (who lives in France) asked if he could prepare us a full course French dinner.  How can you say no?  It was a culinary delight.  Don is a very talented and able chef.  There were five courses in all and the meal took about four hours to eat.  Each course was different and each course was delicious.  My only complaint - by the end of the meal I was a bit overwhelmed.  There was one course I was not too thrilled about.  It had a stinky cheese.  It was a bit strong for my taste.  Otherwise, however, the food was amazing.  There was goose and chicken and pasta and chocolate and shrimp - but not all together.  

It is so good for us to step out of our culture.  It broadens our appreciation of the world in which we live.  And, the meal was a wonderful act of service by a dear brother who was seeking to encourage us during a rather difficult time in our lives.  He succeeded.  We laughed a lot and we ate a lot and we rejoiced in our hope and shared our faith.  It never ceases to amaze me how we can, in the providence of God and the love of others, be so blessed.