A Hole With Four Wheels !!

Back when SWMBO and I had money, about ten years ago or so, we were living in the Land of Lincoln, and taking off every other weekend to go camping.

At that time we were avid tent campers, with a very large dome tent, and all the accessories. Occasionally it would rain, but we were very good at setting up the tent on the high ground, and trenching around the tent. Then came one night, it must have come down about 3 inches in a half-hour. While the floor of the tent held up, it seems that the waterproof fly wasn't all that waterproof, and then tent seams weren't all that sealed.

We packed up the sodden mess that night, and headed to the nearest motel. A month or so later, we decided to head out to a location we had not visited before. It was July, and the weather was decidedly dryer ... and warmer. That first day we setup around 2pm, and then went to take a nice cool shower. Temp was in the high 80's, as was the humidity.

We got back to the tent, just as hot and sweaty as we were before the shower. Luckily the tent was in a shady spot, but there wasn't much of a breeze that day. That evening, we tried to get to sleep, but it was too warm. Went out to a nearby Wall of Mart (blissfully air conditioned), and picked up a fan along with a 200 foot extension cord. Plugged in the cord to the RV electric box there, and ran the fan all night. Next day, we lasted until 12 and then packed it in. On the way home we made a resolution to buy a small RV.

We found a used one, found out afterwards it needed a lot of reconstruction, and traded it in on a new one (something like the picture). It was (and is) still great. Air Conditioning, stove, fridge, mini-shower and commode, and a generator so we can dry camp. Trouble is, these things take a lot of maintenance.

Unfortunately, there was a period of about two years I didn't do any preventive maintenance, not a good thing. Now I spend my time sealing leaks, and trying to keep the whole thing from falling apart. I have no one to blame but myself, but they could have made it easier to work on. I'm hoping that I can find a place that can do reconstructive work on the overhang. The manufacturer figured out that the overhang was a long-term accident waiting to happen, and started using a one-piece fiberglass shell with less seams and fewer problems. Its too late for me, unless I can find someone who can do a retrofit, which would involve additional investment.

And they call boats a hole in the water a man pours his money into; they should own an RV !!

... and so it goes !!

Multi-generational

Was reading Presbyweb (or as its now known Church and World - PCUSA Edition) today, and saw a blurb about an article John Ortberg wrote for the Leadership Journal.

Clicked on the link to the article, and started reading. A very good article by the way, but what struck me was this thought:

I was looking at church websites not long ago and noticed a fascinating dynamic. Many new churches have been formed with "multi-cultural" as part of their DNA and a stated value. But I have not yet seen a new church plant with "multi-generational" in its vision statement. In all the cases I read (in an admittedly non-scientific sample), "multi-generational" in a church's self-description was a euphemism for "we are an aging church that wants to have more young people attending so that we don't die, but we don't want to change enough to actually attract any of them to come."

My emphasis above. FWIW ... Stodgy Presbyterian has multi-generational on its Welcome page. As the webmaster for SPC, I've been racking my brain to remember where I got that blurb. Turns out I found it on the monthly newsletter's main page.

And, as with many things, John Ortberg has that down pat !!

Update: When I mentioned this to SWMBO, she gave a corollary to the definition given above. She felt that John Ortberg would approve it whole-heartedly: "In addition to the definition given, you can add The young families we currently have are limited to the children of the members who grew up in the church.

... and so it goes

Creeping Crud

For the past four days I've had what I call, The Creeping Crud. Its basically an upper respiratory illness that creeps over me like the Blob of movie lore.

It starts out with a slight scratchiness to the throat with a dry cough when I talk too much. It then moves to a full blown sore throat, which accompanying chest congestion, and nose running the marathon.

Invariably I'm too sick to get out of bed to head over to the quick express medical place until the secord or third full day of symptoms. I've already missed a day of work by that time, and usually find out that I'm going to miss a few more.

Not that I'm contagious (they tested for flu) its just that I'm achy, sore and tired. Its amazing how tired you get when you're sick, and coughing. By the fourth day, my lungs are sore from the coughing, and it feels like I've been worked over by the old NYPD boileroom boys*.

By the fifth day, I'm not quite 100%, but well enough to head back to work. Happy Happy, Joy Joy !!

... and so it goes


*In case you don't get that reference, they were supposedly a bunch of cops with rubber hoses that were liberally applied to the sides of the offender.

Contemporary Christian Music

We've been doing a short Praise and Worship time before our traditional service this summer. We don't have a flashy worship team, its just myself, SWMBO, an acoustic guitarist, and our Minister of Music on piano. Obviously, that's not us on the right!!

We don't sound all that bad, in fact one of our older saints says she thinks I have a fantastic voice. Of course, I'm not so sure how good her hearing is. That said, we make a Joyful Noise.

We only do three songs, and our guitarist is still learning and does mostly chords, and only in certain keys. Our Music Minister tries to play all four parts on the piano, and does his darnedest to slow down even the fastest contemporary song.

However, this week, both the guitarist and the pianist are out of town on vacation. So, I get to find karaoke versions of songs to use as accompaniment. I'm sure not going to do this a Capella.

That said, we're lucky to get more than 20 people during this time, and most of them show up about 5 minutes before the main service, with the rest of the congregation showing up during the passing of the peace just before the call to worship.

Needless to say, our congregation is not all that enthused about this. I do realize that contemporary music is not for all churches, nor is it the cure-all for a church that is not growing, but anything that makes Stodgy Presbyterian a bit less stodgy helps. So we try, and we sneak in a contemporary hymn about once or twice a month, just to shake things up. The problem is, we really need a rhythm section to keep our pianist (and sometimes the guitarist) on the beat.

And so it goes ....

Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer

Its been a very slow summer, what with vacation, and heat waves, and the summertime blahs. I'm not complaining, mind you. I'd rather have the heat than the cold and snow of winter, its just that after spending five weeks on the grand tour in June and the beginning of July, the rest of the summer is just an anticlimax.

There are a few things that need doing, and I'll get to them sometime this week, but really, with the heat index in the 90's and the humidity, and then the thunderstorms, who can get anything done. Oh, SWMBO will get me going, that I know, but right now, just sitting with my keyboard typing away is so much preferable to actually doing something.

Maybe because I reached my 39th birthday on a week ago, just like Jack Benny used to. Of course, I'm much older than that (I've got my AARP card), but I haven't yet reached Social Security retirement age. Still, I think I can go to work at TJ's and toss cases of corn around like the 20 year old next to me does. Then I come home the next day and have SWMBO slather Watkins(R) Warming Analgesic Balm* all over my back and shoulders.

I've been away from the blog for the same reason, lethargy, and really nothing to write about. Well, I could have, but I've been biting my tongue (or in this case, binding my hands) from commenting on the various goings on in the many Christian denominations. I'm wondering if He shouldn't come back with a rope's end to start tossing the tables, and clearing the temple again.

I hear people talking about the 'Dietary' laws when the 'elephant' argument comes up, but then I read in Matt 15:10-11

Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' "

. Then in Matt 5:17-18:

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

Yet people listen, but do not hear.

But as I'm rambling on, you may also notice that the blog has another skin. I had intended to leave the Harry Potter theme up for only a week or two (that got away from me) and replace it with my old theme. However, I did some searching through Google and found a theme that I liked, and so the place has been remodeled once more. I hope the new look is pleasing to the eye, and to the reader.

And so it goes .... (with a tip of the hat to the late Uncle Walter)

*if you want to know how to get some, leave a comment and I'll get back to you ;)

Defining Church .. hmmm, not really !!

In reading yesterday's (July 21) Presbyweb, there was a link to an article on Dr. Joseph Small's talk at the Calvin Jubilee held in Montreat.

One thing in the article struck this Reformed Catholic as in error, and I admit I'm not as well versed in Calvin as some. I quote:

Small focused on three aspects of Calvin’s thoughts on the church that remain relevant today: word and sacrament as central marks of the church, a unified plural ministry of clergy and laity and the communion of congregations.

Now, I'm not sure if this is exactly what Dr. Small's said, or if this was messaged by the reporter, but having attended lectures on Calvin from someone who has made Calvin his specialty (Dr. Charles Partee), I don't believe that is what Calvin actually wrote.

So I checked via Google, and found this information from Dr. C. Matthew McMahon on the site "A Purian's Mind". I won't go through the whole article, but I will list the three Marks as listed there, with supporting Scripture verses:

Mark 1: Sound Doctrine (John 8:31, 47; 14:23; Gal. 1:8-9; 2 Thess. 2:15; 2 Tim. 3:16-4:4; 1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 9-11)

Mark 2: Right Administration of the Sacraments(1 Cor. 10:14-17, 21; 11:23-30)

Mark 3: The Right Administration of Discipline (Matthew 18:17; Acts 20:28-31a; Rom. 16:17-18a; 1 Cor. 5:1-5, 13; 14:33, 40; Gal. 6:1; Eph. 5:6, 11; 2 Thess. 3:14-15; 1 Tim. 1:20; 5:20; Titus 1:10-11; 3:10; Rev. 2:14-16a; 2:20).

Again, not sure if Dr. Small was emphasizing areas of his concern; he is trying to bring back the idea of teaching/ruling elders, or just eliminating areas of Calvin's thoughts that are inconvenient to those who are currently holding power in the PCUSA.

New Blog Template !

OK, I'm a geek ... found this on the Harry Potter website, and thought, what the heck, for a few weeks, it won't hurt.

I'll have to rebuild the old template gadgets, but for the fun of having a Harry Potter skin on the blog, its worth it ;)