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Showing posts from July, 2009

Another Tribute To the Apollo 11 Anniversary

from the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Sorry about the commercial :(

Come On And Come To Me Now

I've been talking to a friend who has a big decision to make in the near future. They are having to decide how much of a bad situation they are willing to put up with. I'm struggling with my advice because I don't know how much of my experience and how I would deal with the situation is coloring my advice. I guess my CPExperience helps me to recognize my issues and make me aware of them. But I am still struggling with what to do and what to say (or not say.) I hope just being there to listen helps. So if you're mad, get mad Don't hold it all inside Come on and talk to me now Hey, what you got to hide? I get angry too Well I'm a lot like you When you're standing at the crossroads And don't know which path to choose Let me come along 'cause even if you're wrong Crissy Hynde & the Pretenders - I'll Stand By You (live)

Last One Out Should Turn Off The Lights

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It is eerily quiet on the grounds of The LTS. There are only a few people on campus doing their CPE, all of the Seniors have left and gone off to their calls and careers. Then the people of my class, the Middlers/Interns have been taking off, moving to their internship sites for a year. I'm one of the last ones left here, planning on moving to the Garden next week to start in August. I'm dealing with the hidden dilemma of the Seminary process, packing and moving. This is one of the dirty little secrets of the call process they don't tell you about. Well, for those of my readers who are in the discernment process, let me clue you in on this. From the time you leave your home, sweet home until your first call, you will probably move at least 4 times, possibly as many as 6 times in 4 years. Here is the breakdown: 1) From home onto campus - Depending on if you are a pipeliner, pseudo-pipeliner or second career person, this will entail either moving some stuff, gathering so

Preview of the Garden

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After chatting with a friend back in Michigan, I realized I never posted the pictures I took when I visited my internship site here on my blog. Oopsies. So, better late than never. <-- This is a picture of me in front of the Garden's Lutheran Church, and this is a picture of the inside of the church looking from just inside the door. --> Below it is a view from the alter looking back. You can see the pulpit and the church does have a balcony. --> <-- This is the "extra building" at the Garden's church. Since there is no running water, the bathroom facilities have to be outdoors. That means outhouses for those who haven't put the delicately worded statement together. <-- This is the view from the porch of the house I will be staying in, as is this view. ---> I plan to post more photos when I get down to the Garden, which will be at the end of this month. The Garden is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, and I'm planning on takin

One Small Step

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Forty years ago today, Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon. The videos I wanted to post here I already posted when Walter Cronkite died. So here is an alternative view of the moon landing which may be more familiar to most people. and the video that followed it ... The Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star (Yes kids, MTV actually used to play music videos. Really. I'm not kidding. Seriously.) --- EDIT ---- I was waiting to see what Google would do with their logo to commemorate the anniversary. It didn't pop up until late in the day (probably to coincide with the time of the first moon walk) but I think it's kinda cool. BTW, if you think the various Google holiday logos are neat, as I do, here is a website that catalogs all of them.

And That's The Way He Was.

Walter Cronkite died today. I remember watching him deliver the evening news, even though my father preferred the Huntley/Brinkley Report. But when there was big news, we turned to CBS and "Uncle Walter." While others remember him for other news stories, as a NASA junkie, Walter Cronkite explained to me, and the rest of the world, what was going on. That he passed away during the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, just brings those memories even closer to the forefront of my memory. I've been hearing from more of my friends and classmates that they are among the dozen of people reading this blog. For those of you who are too young to remember, or who may have other memories of Walter Cronkite, this is mine. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 - Final

You Are Go For Ignition

Forty years ago, Apollo 11 took off from Cape Kennedy with the goal of landing the first human being on the moon. The moon landing itself is the first real extended memory I have. This is NASA's quick profile of the mission for those who weren't around to experience it.

You'll Remember What Your Knees Are For

Back in the 'burg to pack and move to the Garden for Vicaring. Kept hearing this song from Sugarland when I'd stop playing my iPod (through the cassette attachment). Sugarland -Babygirl The story didn't ring the bell, but the sentiment did. Especially when one station doubled down the Jennifer Nettles (the lead singer) dueting with Bon Jovi on "Who Says You Can't Go Home."

Vicaring in the Garden

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So, here are a series of links full of information on the site where I will be spending the next year as the Vicar. From Wikipedia , and about the varmint . Information about the Garden is here , here , here and here . You can explore the Garden by Google Maps street view (yeah, they've been there!) If you go about 1/2 a mile to the west from where the marker puts you, just at the first curve on 623, you will see Central , the church I will be primarily serving. The church , and its cemetery , is in the National Register of Historic Places . The post office has been closed , but the general store remains open and for sale. A nice magazine article about the Garden is downloadable from here .

Troubled Times Have Come

I spent the better part of today driving around my hometown of Saginaw, Michigan . Since I headed off to The LTS two years ago, I really have not been back long enough to see how it had changed in that time, and when I had been back, I was usually tied up with family duties. So I just took the day to drive around to see the sights. Now Saginaw has been hard struck by the crash of the automobile industry in the 80's and has never recovered. Unemployment is somewhere in the 20% area and that only counts those who still can still collect benefits. When I was growing up in the late 60's and through the 70's, there were about a dozen plants, all running three shifts a day and sometimes working on weekends. Now there are a couple of plants working single shifts. I was stunned by how many plants no longer exist. They are not just vacant, they aren't there. They've been bulldozed, rubble removed and are now green areas surrounded by fences topped with barbed wire. I drove b

Putting The Apple In Front Of The Cart

Just In Case You Were Wondering ... … why Steve King (R-Iowa) was the only member of the House of Representatives to vote against a resolution recognizing the free labor provided by slaves in the building of the U.S. Capitol. In addition to the resolution itself, a plaque will be placed in the House Visitors Center stating that the Capitol was built in part by slave labor. So why did Rep. King vote against the resolution? We’ve gotten an explanation from Rep. Steve King (R-IA) for why he was the lone vote against acknowledging the role of slaves in building the U.S. Capitol. He did it to protest “a several year effort by liberals in Congress to scrub references to America’s Christian heritage from our nation’s Capitol”: Our Judeo-Christian heritage is an essential foundation stone of our great nation and should not be held hostage to yet another effort to place guilt on future Americans for the sins of some of their ancestors. So there you have it. Leastways, that’s as good

A Well Deserved Accolade

I saw this online today . Rarely does someone who so richly deserves such an honor receive it. Bravo, Coach T. Well done. I never played for Coach T. But he was my math teacher for a couple of years in high school. He was as demanding an instructor as he was a coach. He was also a mentor when I ran the Youth Sports Program in Saginaw. He was always there to lend a hand and to help out, to do what was in the best interest of the kids. He was, and is, a class act.

God of my want, Lord of my need, Lead me on

For some strange reason, I've been in a Neil Diamond mood, so here's a classic. Neil Diamond - Sooliamon

Unbelief or Faith

This is the text I wrote for the sermon I gave today at my home church. I preached off of notes based from this text, but wondered off script several times. I actually think the sermon I gave is much better than this, but unless I missed the stenographer in the pews, this will have to serve as the hysterical record. Today’s lesson begins right where last week’s lesson ended. Jesus has healed the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years and restored to life the daughter of Jarius. Now Jesus and his Apostles are coming back to Jesus’ hometown. Jesus goes into the synagogue in his hometown; we are assuming it is Nazareth. He begins to teach, and amazes the people who knew him. They are astonished; “Where did he learn all of this? How can he do this?” We know little about Jesus’ childhood, and learn nothing from Mark’s Gospel. In Mark’s Gospel, the first time we meet Jesus is when he is being prepared to be baptized by John the Baptizer. But we do learn some things about him from this

So Long, Farewell, Say Hi To The Russians

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The political shelf life of a pit bull with lipstick, just about 10 months. From August 29 of last year until July 3, you captivated us with your plain-folks style. Fortunately, the voters decided to keep your vendetta stylings out of the VP's undisclosed location. Good luck fighting off any remaining scandals, Sarah. Ya don't mind if I call ya Sarah, doya?