College Visit Road Trip

Here it is the middle of April and we've been thrown a curve ball at the start of our Spring Break college visit road trip. A blizzard over CO & NE have closed I-80 West of Lincoln NE. Tim & I had a great visit with Rod & Barb Zach. Little Joel gave me his bedroom for the night, which I very much appreciated. Tim hung out with Philip, Sharon & Sharon's boyfriend...watching the final four games at the dorms of UNL. I got a tour of Rod's school & the carnival they had that night....Rod spent a lot of time in the dunk tank. The family is very happy in their new home & neighborhood. God is very good.

Tim & I made it safely to Denver on schedule by heading South first instead of West...Robin is a day behind due to flight cancellations. We'll have to skip the Carlsbad Caverns, but are looking forward to a visit at NMMI tomorrow.

Will winter never end?

Here it is the end of March and 3-6 inches of snow are expected tonight. I had to leave the dog park early since only a sweatshirt, parka shell, cap & gloves was not enough to wear in 29 degree temps with 20 mph winds.....on March 28th!

It's been a busy couple weeks. We started leading two small groups (bible study in Mark & Growing Kids Gods Way), Robin prepared herself and us for her departure for CA to help her mom get ready to move, and I've been interviewing people almost continuously at work in addition to all my other duties.

In a way, I'm kinda glad it's so cold. I can't get out & do some of the work I was planning & I'm just going to relax this weekend.

Next week I've got a ton to do to finish hiring at work, get ready to leave for a Spring Break college visit tour with Tim & continue the small groups. Lord, in You I put my trust.....& rest.

Setting a New Goal

One thing I learned last summer hiking the Grand Canyon is that I need physically demanding goals. It's pretty easy to become a sedentary middle aged blob, bobbing along in the stream of life. Not what I want! Determining that I would hike the canyon did a lot of things for me. I was motivated to work out....if I didn't I wasn't sure I'd survive. I did something that I have dreamed of doing....I've decided doing things I dream of is very cool. I found God in a way I've never experienced before. In the terrain, in my limitation, in my companion's grace, in the simplicity of an outstretched hand. So this year I'm setting a new goal. This one is with Robin.

We are going to participate in an Aquathon. An Aquathon is a 1000 meter swim followed by a 5k run. Google "aquathon madison 2009" and you should find a "Fleet Feet" site that describes it. I'd post a link but the site loads videos from YouTube which my Inet filtering software chokes on. Robin & I will be training together for the 5k with a group from Fleet Feet called "No Boundaries". Then seperately we'll be swimming to get ready. I'm looking forward this time to facing my personal limitations along with my bride. All kinds of new ways to find the Lord & each other. Wish us luck!!

Richard Rohr on "Male saints"

"Male saints are, quite simply, people who are whole. They trust their masculine soul because they have met the good masculine side of God, whom we have called 'The Father'. The Father taught them about anger, passion, power and clarity. He told them to go all the way through and pay the price for it. He shared with them his own creative seed, his own decisive word, his own illuminating Spirit. They are comfortable knowing, and they are comfortable not knowing. They can care and not care--without guilt or shame. They can act without success because they have named their fear of failure. They do not need to affirm or deny, judge or ignore. But they are free to do all of them with impunity. A saint is invincible."

Without the rest of the book for context, this might be read with some incredulity. Rohr is helping us men, often men who have not had mentors who have helped us understand what it means to be a real man, to understand what it means to be male...but not just the male animal, but the male as the creator God intended us to be. I want to understand that...in all it's depth & breadth. I want to be all the my Father intends me to be.

I read words like...."without guilt or shame"....and I say awesome! Some would say the christian message wants to lay a guilt or shame message on us. Here I see God intends that I should be confident, powerful, productive, real...without guilt or shame in that. Our God is a redemptive and liberating God. This is what I want to enjoy.

Grand Canyon Hike

In September 2008, I traveled to the Grand Canyon with 25 other men for a trip billed as a midlife sabbatical. It was a life changing event. My group, consisting of 9 men, entered the canyon going down the Grandview trail, along the Horseshoe Mesa, the Hance Creek on to Hance Rapids & up the New Hance Trail to exit the canyon. A five day trip that taught me a lot about myself. For lots of pictures....go here.

What did I learn? Well, I learned that I'm not the man I thought I was. I thought I'd be able to handle this hike quite well. Not as well as some, but at least better than many. I really don't know how I did in the "standings", but I realized that I really was measuring. I really wanted to not be the worst...or even in the bottom tier...it mattered a lot. In some ways, I forgot to have a good time. There was one man who fell, hurt his eye, & subsequently needed a fair amount of assistance. He handled the need in his life so gracefully, it shamed me to see my own pride. Perhaps a definition of maturity is to gracefully accept your own needs, and joyfully meet others as best you can.

Thursday musings....

I've been reading a book recommended to us by Philip Zach of Remedy Drive. The title is "Irresistible Revolution". This book is challenging. I like to be challenged. The question is, am I willing to step up to the challenge?

The author considers himself an "ordinary radical" Christian. I like that. A person who follows Jesus Christ should seem quite radical to our culture of fierce independence & materialism. And yet being this kind of radical isn't just for the hyper spiritual, or the punk anarchists...it's for all of us...it should be ordinary.

The author and his friends and many communities throughout the country & world are choosing to live lives of interdependence & selfless sacrifice...living the gospel. It's a life that rejects dualism in the church...which separates spiritual from social & political issues.

I have to say that for years I've shied away from political & social issues, focusing on spiritual. In some ways because I felt the spiritual is what was real & what really mattered. In some ways because I felt the "christian" right had co-opted some narrow political & social issues as their own...and I didn't always agree with the outcomes. Better to stay out of the fray than to get "distracted" from what was really important. This book is definitely challenging that stance. Jesus says that "they shall know you by the love you have one for another". If I ignore the social ills that surround me, am I loving my brother & sister who are hungry, marginalized, homeless?

I'm not done yet, and the Lord's not done with me yet.

Friday Cold...

I woke up yesterday morning, and in my bathroom, my greeting was this silent testimony to the brutal environment outside. Don't overlook the minus sign to the left of the 14.0. With the wind, -35 degrees. What's it like when it's -35? When you're walking from point A to point B...you hurry. I decided not to walk to the bus, and wait on the corner for a bus that could be on time, late...or even early so I miss it. That could leave me standing there for 30 or more minutes in the blast. There's a company here in Madison that has a blast freezer. It gets to -70...don't want to work there. I chose to drive my trusty Jeep. I turned the key in the ignition...the ignition switch didn't want to let go. The starter just whined as the engine kind of tried to start. After a very few minutes...got 'er started. The throttle was stiff & automagically kept the rpm's up around 3000 or so. Probably woke up all the neighbors & I thought the beast might just shake apart. So I drove to work, which is quite an anomaly. I think the temp in the Jeep got up to around -9 by the time I got to work. Quite comfortable. On University Avenue, the road is so messed up from two years of record snow fall, it's like a washboard, with 3" ridges running across the road, perfectly spaced to cause the Jeep to think it's off road...a few times I caught some air. Quite the adventure....Friday cold...

Dan's Jeep

Back in the late summer of 2008, it was time to fulfill a long time dream...to buy a Jeep Wrangler. Tim was visiting a dear friend & youth pastor, Steve, who I knew had at least one Jeep in the past. I asked Tim to ask Steve if he'd be willing to look over any Jeep I found out there to let me know if it was a decent buy. I got a call from Tim indicating Steve had one for sale. Steve told me to take it home for a week to see if I really wanted it. He indicated you gotta want it.....cause it's not comfortable. Well he's right....it's a bit of a beast....but I love it. See pictures here.

Sturgeon Bay for Robin's Birthday

January 3 is Robin's birthday. For weeks we've been discussing the need to talk about our finances & just touch base on a whole number of financial topics...fun huh? Well, I had this brain storm...let's determine to have a Financial Summit. Let's make this summit meeting fun so it's not a big drag. So I decided to couple the Financial Summit with a getaway trip for Robin's birthday. Robin will have to weigh in on how she felt about sharing her birthday trip with a Financial Summit, but I thought it worked out great....so here's the story.

Thursday, Jan 1 2009, we headed north to Sturgeon Bay in Door County for two nights. We stayed at a beautiful Bed & Breakfast, The Chanticleer Guest House.

We stayed in the Grand Suite, with a big jacuzzi tub, 4 poster king size bed, wood burning fire place, couch, rocking chair, table & chairs for breakfast....very nice.




This fireplace was wonderful. We had it burning whenever we were in the room...







Here we are on our sleigh ride! Beautiful sunny day and a brisk 20 degrees.



A woman at the Candleworks Shop (where Robin got to make a candle) told us of an awesome hike. We went to Cave Point on the Lake Michigan side of the peninsula & hiked about a mile south to Whitefish Dunes state park. Along the way we saw the most awesome display of nature...the dolomite caves carved by the water, with ice spears & flows all over....amazing in a beautiful sunset.

See more pictures at our Photo Journal.