Timber-Lee closing and Trinity College and grad school going virtual only.

 Two places near and dear to me are ending their work as we know it in the coming months.  These places are Camp Timber-Lee in East Troy,  Wisconsin, and Trinity College in Deerfield, Illinois.  Both of these establishments have long histories, both recently celebrating a milestone.  In 2022 Trinity College celebrated its 125th anniversary and Timber-Lee celebrated its 75th.  If this were the Electric Company short, Letter Man, The villainous Spellbinder would take out his magic wand and change the first E to a  second L making milestone, millstone.  I'm not sure what to call the millstone. Perhaps it was  Covid, perhaps a change in the culture of education, perhaps a change in the paradigm of Christian camping; likely a combination of all 3.  But the millstone around Trinity International University whose umbrella is around both Camp Timberlee and Trinity has caused business as usual in the college's case and possibly business altogether to come crashing to a halt in the very near future.  

 I was never a student at Trinity, but I have visited their campus on multiple occasions over the past 40 years.  I have slept in their dorms, eaten in their cafeterias, and played frisbee in their courtyards.  I have attended classes, visited students, and borrowed materials from their library.  I even at one time had a Trinity library card. 

In 2016, Camp Timberlee was gifted by the Evangelical Free Church Association (EFCA)  to Trinity International University (TIU).  I have a long history with Camp Timber-Lee. I was baptized in their lake in 1986 at a church picnic. I did a polar plunge in the same lake in January 2020. My wife Amy and our children once attended a home school camp there and our family slept in one if their famous cabooses. I have visited friends who worked there on multiple occasions. I even flipped over a snapping turtle  who had was trapped on his back bicycling near their grounds while visiting a staff member. I was bicycling near the camp, I'm assuming the snapping turtle was a pedestrian. 

Over the past 15 years, I have chaperoned a half dozen or so arctic blast and winter X-treme trips with our church kids groups and youth groups which has included at least one of my children on each occasion. 3 of my favorite things to do at those winter retreats are

1. A trip to their nature center where there is always an obligatory snake pic taken of one of my children.

2. To spend hours playing gaga ball with students.

3. To spend hours playing nine-square with students.

There is a multitude of other things to do at Timber-Lee: Ropes course, rec room, x-country skiing, zip line, sledding, tubing, tobogganing, horseback riding, broomball, and karaoke, just to name a few.  Of course, camps are a lot of fun and make lasting memories.  But Timber-Lee was all about sharing the gospel and promoting Christian growth.  This spiritual aspect of their ministry is the main reason why so many people are shocked and saddened about its demise.    

When camps like these go under there is often talk of getting new funding and continuing the ministry.  Sometimes something comes out of it like the recent change of ownership of what used to be called Cedar Campus in the upper peninsula of Michigan.  Timber-Lee has a plethora of staff, campers, and alumni who would love to see the ministry continue to grow.

As for Trinity College the class of 2023 seems to be the last class as a residential college as they make the transition to distance learning only.  TIU sees this as a new beginning that fits with its global strategy.  I, for one, hope that is true, but need time to reflect on the past and what will surely be missed.  

Love,

Dave

  

A Lifelong Dream

 Ever since I was a boy, I have had a dream.  It is a typical boyhood dream, but nevertheless, it was my dream .  I wanted to work for a baseball team, specifically  for the Chicago White Sox as their starting third baseman.  It turns out I was not much of a ball player.  I wasn't even a starter on my little league teams. Over the years I modified that dream somewhat.  I dreamed of perhaps being a broadcaster, that way if a job at 3rd base ever opened up I'd be ready to take over.  

A few years ago my brother had a Confirmation party for his daughter at the party suites of a local minor league team.  He shared the suite with a neighbor whose daughter had also been confirmed that day and is the operations manager at the ball park.  My brother introduced me as a guy who is passionate about baseball and whose dream job would be to work at a ball park.  He didn't mention the part about 3rd base probably because there's not a lot of rookies in their 50's.   His friend mentioned the possibility of a job  an usher.  I thought that might be a good job to consider for the next summer.  The next summer was 2020 and there was this little thing called Covid, maybe you heard of it, and since there was no season there was no where to ush.  

Eventually things got a little bit back to normal ,and by April of this year, I was back to working my pre covid jobs as a substitute teacher and  cashier/usher at a local movie theatre.  Last week the school year ended and on one of my last days at school my wife called me and said she had a crazy idea.  I love crazy ideas, so I was all ears.

"The Kane County Cougars need concessions worker this summer, you and I should get jobs there." she told me.  I told her that was not a crazy idea at all and we both  applied that day. When I was applying, I saw they were also hiring 15 year old's with a work permit.  My 15 year old daughter was also looking for work. so she applied as well.  In short order, we all received emails from the Cougars and  were scheduled for interviews.  Lucy's school year ends a week later than the district Amy and I work at so we scheduled the interview for the day after her (Lucy's) school ended.  When the interviewer saw that we were all in the same family he took us all in together.

Lucy, had never been interviewed for a job before but it became obvious to Amy and I pretty early in the process that we were all going to be hired.  It wasn't until we were leaving and the interviewer said very clearly that we'd all been hired that Lucy realized it.  She was ecstatic and couldn't believe it was that easy to get a job.  Amy and I will be working as cashiers and Lucy will be working in the picnic area.  As we will only be working home games, it still gives Amy and Lucy quite a bit of vacation time this Summer and I will be able to work out my schedule at the theatre so I can work both jobs.  

I have always kind of felt bad for people who work concessions at the ball park as they can't enjoy the game as they are helping others to do the same thing.  As I prepare for this job, I look forward to going to the ball park every day and being part of the festivities.  Even if a third base position doesn't open up sharing this job experience with my wife and daughter make it a dream job.  

The views expressed on this website/weblog are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.

How to Get Through 2021: Press On.

 When I wrote my first How to get through 2021 post, I did not expect to write another one the next month and certainly not to write another one the month after that.  But this seems to be exactly what I'm doing.

In my first installment, I talked about how Day by Day interaction with God will help us get through difficult times,  In the second I mentioned about how true Shoulder to Shoulder fellowship will aid us in that journey.  That should be it, I thought.  If God is not all encompassing enough relying on  and serving others who are also relying on and serving God should fill in the gaps. 

Well there seems to be a third ingredient in progressing through difficult times and I was reminded it of last night when listening to Spotify. I was listening to a song by Billy Sprague , a musician, song writer and performer who years ago lost his fiance in a car accident.  She was driving to one of his concerts when the accident occurred. He took a 3 year hiatus from recording and touring and his 2nd release after his return led off with the song, Press On.

  

Although Sprague certainly did not write this song for Covid the emotions expressed are similar to the results of living in lock-down. 

Consider these lyrics

... the passion for life drained like blood from my chest

And it took more than  my will just to take a step when the compass of hope was gone. 

or

Every desperate prayer seemed like heaven refused and some days I found faith meant just tying my shoes and it was all I could do to press on.

In shampoo bottle parlance, if Day by Day is wash and Shoulder to Shoulder is rinse then Press On is repeat.  Pressing on is a continuation of trusting God  and walking along side each other through our trials and our joys.  

Look at the Shoulder to Shoulder living happening in the 2nd verse...

On the oceans so lonesome I  was not left alone

had some heavenly friends when my heart was a stone

and they carried my heart ache and made it their own

when the current of sorrow was strong.

(and one said)

"I pray your memories will not drag you down

not be anchors but treasures of the love that you found"

and his kind words turned hurt into comfort somehow

and the wind in my sails to press on.

I think at least those of us  in western society consider pressing on a solitary activity.  I think it is actually quite communal.  There are heartaches every in life that could be greatly  benefit from  a group of people making it their own.  Even as I was writing this, a friend called to invite me to a church service on Easter which reminded me how his own father said kind words to me on an Easter Sunday some 30 years ago that put the  wind back  in my sails.  I'll save that story for another time. 

In Philippians Chapter 3 the Apostle Paul discusses the concept of pressing on.  In verse 9 he talks about attaining a righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith in Christ.  In verses 10 and 11 he talks about knowing Christ through his  suffering , death and resurrection. In verses 12 and 14 he describes how he is progressing to this point but having not yet reached it and how  he is pressing on towards that goal.  In the 2nd part of the 13th verse he writes something that describes a successful strategy for combating grief, co-vid or anything that life throws at us ...

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. Philippians 3:13B (NIV)

Paul as he often does is using his words to assign priorities.  The past can be very instructional to us but we should never let it define us.  Grief doesn't define us. Lock-down shouldn't define us. A Christians goal should be to become more like Christ.  We can do that by pressing on and we weren't meant to that alone. 

 

 I think this may be it, but who knows, there is still a lot of 2021 to get through and I know a lot of songs.  

How to Get Through 2021: Shoulder to Shoulder

Last month I wrote about how to get through 2021 by advocating adherence to the lyrics of  Day by Day from the musical Godspell. I've been in a bit of a musical renaissance lately.  I've been listening to music for 2 to 3 hours each day and much of it has had an encouraging effect on my outlook on life.  

On the way to work, I listen to the same playlist each morning which features a lot of music from Allen Levi.  In a live concert Allen, who lives and has his recording studio on a Georgia farm describes how he saw two purple finches at the bird feeder outside of his studio.  The first was blind in his right eye and the second blind in the left eye.  

Levi wrote a fictional conversation from one bird to the other about teaming up "to make it through this obstacle course called life. "

Levi's finch also tells his prospective traveling partner that 

"If we travel all alone the danger's plenty but side by side were perfect 20/20."

This got me thinking about the obstacle course that was the year 2020 and how that 2020 was far from perfect in seemingly every aspect. 

2021seems to be shaping up like a movie called 2020: The year that wouldn't leave.  Political turmoil, Covid, Tom Brady winning another Super Bowl.  

If the answer to getting through this year is shoulder to shoulder, a new question that emerges is how do we do that 6 feet apart? 

 

I might suggest 3 ways.

1) Stay positive with each other.

Discontentment is a more infectious virus than even Covid. When one person complains a line soon forms so everyone can get in on the act. 

To stay positive with each other, you first need to stay positive yourself so you can pass it on to others.  In the same way, walking in step with positive people will help you combat negative thoughts and behavior patterns.

Consider the ripple effects of Phillippians 4:4- 9 ...

First have a pattern of rejoicing always (vs.4). add to that gentleness (vs. 5) remove anxiety by presenting your needs to God (vs 6 )and God's peace will guard your heart (vs. 7).  Then to cap it all off think and act only in ways that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent,  and 

praiseworthy (verses 8&9)

2. Encourage each other.

The English Standard (ESV) New International (NIV) and New American Standard (NASB) version of the Bible (3 of my favorite versions) all translated the 1st word of Isaiah 35:3 as strengthen.

ESV: Strengthen the weak hands,

         and make firm the feeble knees. 

NIV: Strengthen the feeble hands,

        steady the knees that give way;

NASB: Strengthen the exhausted, and make the feeble strong. 

In 1995 the NASB went through a revision and the verse is now translated ...

Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble.

When you think about it, encouragement is a kind of strengthening. And you have to admit that 2021 life is enough to make the strongest among us exhausted and feeble.  Words and acts of encouragement can provide an oasis in a barren wasteland. 

3. Find Common Ground

Acts chapter 17:16-34  is generally considered a passage that gives a blueprint on evangelism.  Paul in Athens is able to study the culture and then use the culture as a way of sharing the message of Jesus.  One ministry I know took this pattern and developed a method called ask, admire and admit as a way of presenting the gospel to others.

I believe that Paul's model can also be used beyond the scope of evangelism to promote unity.  As you may have noticed we live in an increasingly divisive society even among Christ-followers.  I sometimes think I can only use 24 letters on Facebook as I always seem to be minding my p's and q's. The thing about Facebook is that ideally our circle is composed of friends, relatives, and acquaintances with whom we once shared common bonds.  Sometimes it helps me to remember those bonds and post those memories as a way of strengthening those bonds rather than focussing on differences. 

In January I wrote that depending on God is a good way to get through 2021.  Depending on each other seems to be the next logical step as God created us to be in relationship with one another.  Working in concert through this obstacle course called life is much better than being each other's obstacles. 

12 from 2020

One of the reason why I continue blogging is to read and respond to the great content other bloggers provide.  I have decided to highlight 12 posts from other blogs from 2020 that really moved me.  

Blogs these day are somewhat of an endangered species.  I feature 9 different blogs in this article.  2 of them only posted one time in 2020.I feature posts from two other blogs that have been dark for at least 4 months now.  So, unless those 4 blogs begin to produce content again none of their fine writing will be here on display if I choose to make this an annual thing.  

As you might imagine, the majority of these posts are about Covid, race, and the election. Each bloggers puts their own unique take on these and other subjects,  Some of these bloggers are fairly well know people like Rhett McLaughlin of Rhett and Link fame and Pastor and Author John Piper.  Others are regular everyday people like my Sister-in-law.  . In any case, I think they all deserve more mention than my mostly unread blog can provide.  However, we all should do what we can, and I can cut and paste links.

Blog: Out Walking

The Kinship of Things March 4, 2020

It may be difficult to imagine a hopeful piece about house arrest. Steve West talks about his life in an early covid lockdown and by using his and other's memories talks about doing far more with far less.  

Favorite line: I keep my neighbors at a distance, and yet hold them close.

Blog: Home Spun Juggling

Sudden Homeschooling: A Beginners Guide

Cristina Ramos Payne brought her blog out of mothballs :) to bring encouragement to Covid induced new homeschooling parents.  She must have saved the moth balls because unfortunately for the blogosphere she has not posted since. :(

Favorite line: The idea of having the kids home 24-7 can be overwhelming, but it is also an opportunity to deepen your relationship.

Blog: Peace Love, and Yoga Pants

How are the Kids Feeling? April 3, 2020

 

My Sister in Law captured Covid anxiety as seen  through the eyes of her children in a palpable and powerful way. 

Favorite line: I finally said to him, "I don't know what it's like to be you!"

 

Blog:  Out Walking

Allies  April 29, 2020

One of the many things I like about Steve West's fine blog is that to misquote When Harry met Sally is I want to have he's having over the more than a decade I've been following his blog his descriptions of film, literature and music have informed what I have consumed. I need to read his posts with my library card next to me so I can look for the materials he's mentioning right away.

Allies continues the house arrest theme he started in The Kinship of Things but focusses as our homes  being the hero of the story. A concept he is quick to point out comes from author D.J. Waldie.

It's hard to make 1 line my favorite out of such a profound and poetic piece.  One line that sums up the piece well is ...

My ally stands. “Here’s a place—a fragile, earthen vessel, admittedly, yet one that will hold you, for now,” it says

And yes, I just did order Diane Keaton's book House which D.J. Waldie wrote the text for from my home librray. 

Blog: Stories by Rhett Mclaughlin

Letter to a White Man May 31,2020

Rhett McLaughlin gives advice to himself and all other white men about how to process  the racial discord  of the Spring of 2020. I found it a helpful reminder.

Favorite passage: Before you begin building your case as to why you’re not contributing to the problem — or why there really isn’t a problem in the first place — just be quiet.  Black Americans are speaking loudly and clearly. If you take a moment to stop defending yourself or finding fault with those fighting for justice, you might be able to listen.

Blog: Lindy Scott

Idolatry and Politics August 5, 2020

In 1982 I started attending Des Plaines Evangelical Free Church. Shortly after that their former youth minister took the job as their pastor.  He influenced much of my early Christian thinking and thanks to his blog continues to do so almost 40 years later.  

In Idolatry and Politics he makes a convincing argument that poliitcal extremism on any side of the political spectrum is just another name for idolatry.  Lindy's posts make up 1/4 of this years review, so expect to see a couple more of his writings later on in the list.  

Favorite Line: If people are totally "pro-Trump" or "anti-Ttump" they have abandoned their use of logic and reason. 

Blog: Lindy Scott

What kind of Republicans (and Democrats) does our Country Need? October 17, 2020

Author's Note: Erstwhile (former) and penultimate (2nd to last) are 2 of my favorite words and I use them as often as I can.

My erstwhile pastor appears on this list for his penultimate time with a profile of Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse.  At the time of this post's mid October publication, Sasse was one of the few  GOP lawmakers who would stand up against President Trump.

My favorite passage was a quote from Sasse:

 “If young people become permanent Democrats because they’ve just been repulsed by the obsessive nature of our politics, or if women who were willing to still vote with the Republican Party in 2016 decide that they need to turn away from this party permanently in the future, the debate is not going to be, you know, ‘Ben Sasse, why were you so mean to Donald Trump?’ It’s going to be ‘What the heck were any of us thinking that selling a TV-obsessed narcissistic individual to the American people was a good idea?’ It is not a good idea.”

Blog: Thirst

The Good Place October 21, 2020

Full disclosure: I discovered this blog earlier this year while researching my previous post about Comedian a song by Steve Taylor and the Perfect Foil. While I did not originally read this post in 2020,   it does meet the 2 the criteria I set for this list: 1) it is a post from 2020 and 2) The blog it comes from is on my blogroll.  

Keith Shields post which waxes philosophical about the NBC comedy The Good Place is one of the few post from this list that is not about covid, politics or race relations.  It is an old school blog post that takes a culturally relevant topic to explore the human condition. 

I liked how Shields did enough explaining about the show so someone not familiar with the show could still relate to the point he was making but did not over explain it in a way that would take meaning away from the point he made.

Favorite Line: It becomes obvious that we must give up on seeking to be good or we will turn ourselves into neurotic do-gooders who question every move. 

Blog: Desiring God 

Policies, Persons and Paths to Ruin: Pondering the Implications of the 2020 Election October 22, 2020

Author and Pastor John Piper  is not the only contributor to the blog on the Desiring God but his posts are generally the ones I most appreciate.  This post I found especially gratifying as I had decided on the same course of action for the election as he did.  Well approximately the same, he chose a write in candidadte, I just moved on to the next race. Piper makes a very good defense of not voting for Trump or Biden without mentioning either by name.

Favorite Line: In fact, I think it is a drastic mistake to think that the deadly influences of a leader come only through his policies and not also through his person.

Blog: Lindy Scott

"Heads I Win, Tails You Lose" and the Election October 25, 2020

In the aftermath of the horriffic events of January 6th, 2021 many people wrote that they were not surprised by the events.  Lindy Scott was one of them but I think that's because he said this 2 weeks prior to the election: (Italics mine*) 

Something similar is happening now in the presidential election. Trump has predicted that he will win when the votes are counted OR if the tally shows him losing, it will be because of vote fraud. He has also affirmed  that he would take the election to the Supreme Court if he loses. This is dangerous for our country. If there is a fair election AND Trump actually loses, many of his more devoted followers might protest the counting of mail in votes and declare fraud. Some of these followers might turn to violence.

I am certain this is not something Lindy wanted to be right about. At least we can't say He didn't warn us.  

* I've always wanted to say italics mine.  As long as we are doling out punctuation marks, I'll take the ampersand.

Blog: The Aaugh Blog 

Colorblind Eye Patch Dec 9, 2020

The Aaugh Blog is an independent Peanuts website that I quite enjoy.  I really liked this post that talks about some of my favorite strips from when I was a kid when Sally had lazy eye.  No favorite line just favorite memories.

Blog: Thinking Person's Guide To Autism

Losing Hard Won Freedoms: The Pandemics Toll on People with I/DD  December 10, 2020

I hate to end on a sour note but Covid has been especially hard on people with disabilites. as I'm typing this on My daughter who has high functioning autism is playing monopoly with her Mom and sister.  (More on this epic game here and here.  That reminds me  that she has been unable to attend her monthly game night for young adults with HFA for almost a year.  As Ivanova Smith  states it ican be much more difficult for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities than just missing a game night.  

Favorite Line:  (Smith describing the effects of the isolation that pandemic restrictions has caused her). I feel like I am stuck in a car that keeps going backwards and backwards and I can’t make it stop.

.

How to get through 2021: Day by Day

I volunteer with our church youth group, It is for 6th graders through 12th graders.  Until recently it was two separate youth groups one for 6th 7th and 8th graders and one for 9th through 12th graders  meeting on separate nights of the week.  During the Summer we would allow the incoming 6th graders to join the middle school group and the outgoing 8th graders to attend both groups.  As the Summer would draw to an end I would give the outgoing 8th graders a short (2-3 minute) commencement  on their last night of the younger group.

In 2016 my son Charlie was one of the kids moving up to the high school group.  I challenged the students to have a "2020" vision of what they hoped to achieve in High School especially how they could be used by God in their new schools.  

Little did any of us know about what the year 2020 held for us. In fact my son's senior year was progressing quite normally until March 13th turned out to be his last day of high school that actually met at the high school.  Since that day, 2020 was a rather tumultuous year (Understatement Alert).  

The events of the past 2 weeks make 2021 look like it's going to be more of the same.  How do we get through another year like that?

The answer both figurarively, literally and musically is Day By Day

 

As this  great song suggests we can not only get through 2021 but thrive in the midst of it by doing these 3 things from Day by Day, day by day.

Seeing God more clearly

Loving God more dearly

Following God more nearly.

So like I told the YG in 2016 vision is important.  The vision that God is showing me for 2021 requires more time Seeing God through time spent in his word, Following God through obedience to his word  and Loving God by loving his creation.  I hope to expound on this more in further posts. Right now I'm just taking it day by day.

Lucy's Braces Come Off. Before & After shots.

 

Before

After

Posting this for Wordless Wednesday at Comedy Plus.

A Lesson From the Box Score

The Year In Sports

Twenty         20

Covid           19

The coach of Twenty was quoted at the press conference.  

"Covid put up quite a fight, but we knew if we worked together as a team we would persevere and prevail in the end."  

Keeping up with the Changes.

In the Fall of 2007  my wife started taking our 3 children to a home school cooperative (co-op).    It was a traditional co-op, where each family taught some classes and volunteered in others. The first semester it turned out amazing for the kids.  Charlie, who just graduated from high school, still has his notebook from a very cool International Space Station class he took that year.  It was amazing for the kids, but very difficult for my wife.  Each parent got at least one class period off to fellowship with the other parents. Alas, Lucy was about 1 at the time and as you know when you take a 1-year-old anywhere you never get time off.  Amy wisely decided on taking a semester off and going back when Lucy was a little older.  

Amy planned to return in the Fall of 2008.  However, Amy and I did the Old Switcheroo in the fall of 2008. (She went back to working full time, and I became Home School Dad and took over the teaching at home.) In the Spring semester of 2009, I brought the kids back to co-op and did the teaching, assisting, and running after Lucy. Soon The co-op became amazing for everyone in our family.  

For several years this is how it remained.  Then as our circumstances changed, we would quit the co-op and later, come back to it only to leave again and come back again.  Finally, (or we thought it was finally) in 2015, we stopped homeschooling altogether.  I quit co-op for "the final" time and we moved on with our life.   Our home school adventure had many twists and turns in the road and yet looking back we could see God leading us through each and every one.  

This contiued when all 3 children were in public sct hool at the same time for the first time in their lives. Charlie excelled in his last year of middle school and his first year of high school.  Emma had major adjustments and changes to navigate, going from a 3 person school with a 40 person co-op once a week to a school of 3,000 students and being diagnosed with High Functioning Autism(HFA).  (Her diagnosis was partially due to one of the many extra curricular events we went to because of our co-op. One of the former students in our co-op who has HFA was featured in a documentary that premiered at the Imago Film Festival. The documentary opened our eyes to the possibility that Emma might be on the spectrum, which helped hasten her diagnosis.)   Because of her many  home school credits from her first two years of high school she was able to finish her high school experience a semester early by taking an on-line poetry class at home. The wonder that is Lucy, continued to shine in her last 2 years of eleementary school.  She won speech contests that highlightred her flair for the dramatic, won awards for her artistic achievement, and was honored with the highest award in her 5th grade commencement. As the 2017 school year ended, more changes were in store for the Roller clan as each of our 3 students again changed schools, as we after 16 years in Carpentesville changed suburbs.

Emma was off to the local jr. college.  Charlie started his sophomore year at a new high school and Lucy started being home schooled again.  We had always wanted to home school each of our children through at least  middle school.  We did that with Emma and even got an extra two high school years with her at home.  Charlie was in 8th grad when we stopped home schooling him.  We were delighted when we had the opportunity to bring Lucy back home for her 3 middle school years.  Of course this meant going back to our old homeschool co-op and saying we needed to return if only for us to learn the actual meaning  of the word final.

  Our on-again off again relationship with our co-op taught us many things more than one post will allow, but here are a couple. My years at the co-op prepared me for my now on-again off again job  (Thanks Covid) as a substitute teacher. At the co-op, Lucy was still a force to be reckoned with;  No longer the one man wrecking ball of her toddlerdom,  she continued to blossom as an amazing orator, comedian, actress, and especially a gracious loving daughter, student and friend.   

Earlier this Lucy was accepted into a special  theater arts academy  part of the public high school Charlie just graduated from. She was  so looking forward to finishing her home school and co-op experience and then leaving home and going   to school every day in the Fall.  Then Covid came on the scene.  The co-ops did not end the way we expected and now we found out that her high school will not  start as we expected.  She will start high school as her brother and sister finished it, virtually.  

Educating our children has not always gone the way we have planned it.  However, we have seen God orchestrate all the steps and use them in mighty ways.  As with everyone else on the planet, Covid 19 life has been very challenging for our family but we are still confident that God will continue directing our paths.  In a way much more than the band at the fish in the sea dance at the end of Back to the Future could , God is more than able to keep up with the changes.  

Summer Reading plan 2020

Each year I try to read more during the summer. I usually define the summer as the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day. I like to add a few days to that so the period is exactly 100 days. This year for whatever reason I didn’t start the reading plan at Memorial Day. June  came and went and I hadn’t read a single book. I decided to start the plan on July 1st and go to October 8th for the full hundred days. Not exactly a regular Summer, but 2020 hasn't been a regular year,

My goal is usually to read at least 10 books during that period. Ideally I’d like to read more but if I read at least 10, I feel pretty  good. Today is July 25th and I am 1/4 through the period. Before I talk about my progress so far let’s talk about my method.

There are so many ways to read a book these days.  There of course is the traditional book in hand method, I still do a lot of that.  You can also listen to a book on cd, casette, play-aways or online.    For more of how I feel about the difference between reading and listening to books, you can see my post Is Listening the New Reading?

What books Ir ead during my Summer campaign isas varied  as how I read them.  I'll read books I've never read before, books I've tried to get through without  success ( Moby Dick and Three Musketeers for example), and I certainly reread books during this time as well.  Most years I'll buy at least one book specifically to read for the chalenge. For the most part, I obtain my books from my personal collection, or from local libraries.  

I read both fiction and non-fiction ,poetry or prose, regular novels or graphic novels.  I often have a list of books or authors I'd like to read in the back of my mind, but I am so glad that the library is open again so I can peruse the shelves and find something outside of my rather eclectic mix.  I also like my list to be organic. If I am reading a book and a subject, or book or person is mentioned, I may put that onto my list.  For example, I just finished a book about Fred Rogers where I read that early in his career,  he had met Charles M. Schulz, the creator of Peanuts.   So the last time I was at the library, I picked up a couple Peanuts anthologies.  

I tend not to read one book at a time but sometimes I’m reading 4 to 5 books concurrently. There will  also be times when  I start a book and end up not finishing it right away or not at all. As of today I have finished 4 books and am currently working on 7 (I know I said 4 or 5 but sometimes I go a little crazy.) more, and have put one aside for the time being.  In order to say I'm working on a book I have to read from or listened to it in the past week.  

The 4 I have finished so far are . . 

The Song - Calvin Miller (book that I own) have read previously. 

When Sinners Say I Do - Dave Harvey  (book that I own) had not read previously.

Little House in the Big Woods- Laura Ingalls Wilder - (on line audio book borrowed on Hoopla) Had read and listened to parts of previously, had never completed.  

Kindness and Wonder: Why Mr. Rogers matters now more than ever. - Gavin Edwards  (book - borrowed from library) Had not read previously.  

Books currently reading ...

Anne of Green Gables - Lucy Maud Montgomery (on-line audio book-borrowed on Hoopla) - Have not read previously.

The Runaway Jury - John Grisham - Book borrowed from library - Have read previously. 

Abraham Lincoln - A new birth of Freedom  - By Janet & Geoff Benge - This is a book owned by my family which I purchase when we were homeschooling our kids  - Have previously read book.

Downton Abbey Script Book Season 3 - Julian Fellowes (On-line book borrowed from Hoopla) - Had not read previously have watched the episodes on television. 

Frederick Buechner 101 by Frederick Buechner Choreographed by Ann Lamott- Book borrowed from library. Have not readpreviously.

Complete Peanuts 1971-1972 Charles M Schulz. Book borrowed from library. I own some of these volumes but my children have absconded with them.  

Peanuts Every Sunday  1966-1970 -By Charles M Schulz . Book- borrowed from library.  I have not read this volume of colorized Sunday strips before, but have read most of the strips previously.  

Books I have set aside.

A Crazy Holy Grace - Frederick Buechner I was trying to read this book on Hoopla, but soon discovered that I was having difficulty reading more than 1 book at a time electronically.  That is why I picked uo the book of Buechner essays from the library.  Once I am finished with Downton Abby, I may get back to this book.  

As of today I am on pace to finish 16 books in the 100 days.  If I were to finish just 5 of the 7  I am currently working on in the next 25 days, I would then be on pace for 18.  

 I have enjoyed each book I have finished.  Ideally, I'd love to do a short review of each book I read, but alas I find I lack the temperament for short reviews and the time for more detailed ones. .  Nonetheless, I'll try to include some reviews here in the weeks to come.  I'm going to close the book on this post now and return us all to whatever new normal we are heading towards.  

The Library at Last

March 13, 2020 was a Friday.  It turned out to be a true Friday the 13th in the sense that something scary started occurring.  Friday March 13th was the day that many things in the U.S. started shutting down because of Covid 19.  For me it was a day of lasts.  It was one of the last days I worked at the movie theatre I used to work at.  It was the last day I subbed during the 2020 school year. It was the last day I went to a public indoor event (a college talent show, wher my daughter was reciting her poetry).  

During this time I've switched jobs, (although I still hope I can sub in the Fall.) jumped back into blogging, and navigated the new normal with help from God and my family.  Because of that and that I am a particularly resilient kind of guy  social distancing, face masks and zoom chats have been fairly easy to adapt to.  What's been difficult is LOL. LOL is no laughing matter, it stands for lack of libraries.  

I love libraries.  I have really missed ours (Gail Borden in Elgin, Illinois) being open during the stay at home order.  They have handled it greatly but I still missed them.  The first thing they did after closing was expand the amount of materials you could take out virtually using Hoopla.  In late May or Early June the drive through  opened and you were able to start checking out  mterials.  Today they reopened in person,  

When we went to Wisconsin last month we stopped in an open library and there was a 30 minute time limit and not much to do because we didn;t  have borrowing priviliges.  It felt good to be back at a library even for a half hour, but today felt more like coming home. 

Instead of lasts it was a day of covid-19 era firsts.  First time back at Gail Borden ,first time bugging  reference people, first time checking out books in person. , first time back at my bank  (my credit union is in the same building as the library), first time running into and talking with someone I knew while at the library, and first time using a library computer.  I even started this post while using it.  

Home Sweet Library

Quarantine Chic: Library Style

I must have told 8 employees of  the library how glad I was that they were open.  A kid in a candy store had absolutely nothing at me.  Now if you could borrow candy and then return it when you were finished, that would be similar. A library is an everlasting gobstopper for the soul.