Pulpit Rock Hike

This summer we are doing some hiking with our youth. We have a very kind man who has initiated this ministry, and it has been exciting to see him pitch in and get excited about a project tied in with youth ministry.

Our first hike, for most hikers, is an easy hike. Not so for me. I tried to hike it with my friend who is leading this hike, and was challenged. (I guess any hike for a fat asthmatic at high elevations during allergy season is a challenge) And since it was not the actual hike, I skipped the hard part. Last Sunday, we did the hike for real. We did not have a great turn out of youth (some folks were busy, some don't like to hike), but the folks that did come had a good time of a "prayer path" experience of hiking up the mountain bit by bit while praying as we went.

I was happy because I made it to the top, did not fall down (like I did on the practice run), and got to spent some quality time with the few people who wanted to show up.

Trip to Michigan

On June 1, I headed out to Michigan with Jen to meet her parents and go to a family wedding. It was a long, yet pleasant trip.


On the first day, we drove from the airport to her mother's house. On the way I got to see all the houses that Jen grew up in, and get a feel for the lay of the land. It was nice.

That evening we stayed at her mom's place. Her mom makes a mean barbeque, which is something I can appreciate.

One thing I noticed immediately about Michigan in relation to Colorado Springs was the size of the yards. Colorado (and Southern California for that matter) have such small yards compared to most of the yards in places like Michigan and Oregon and Kansas. In addition to the large yards, Michigan is a very green place. And, since Jen's mom's place was near a lake, it was especially green.

We left Jackson, Michigan for Sturgis, Michigan the next day. The wedding was in a very small town on the way to Sturgis in a beautiful park. Since her dad was not really in the mood to talk to me, and I did not know a lot of people in Michigan, I went around and took a few photos. Some of the pictures can be seen above.




Here is a pic of Jen and I at the wedding.



After the wedding we made our way to Battle Creek to see where my friend Steve Buie's family lives and where his dad pastors a church. Here is a pic of the church in "cereal city" right past the "majestic mile" (which we were told was not as majestic as it sounds). Besides being a former home of "Super" Steve Buie, it is also home to most of the cereals in the country, and the best, most hospitable and friendly PS Mart employees on the planet.






On Sunday we went up to Jen's dad and stepmom's place up in Midland, MI. We were immediately informed that in Midland there are the "Dows" and the Dow-nots", which is a reference to Dow Chemical having plants in town, and basically sustaining the local economy. We toured houses that Jen's dad has considered or is working on, as Jen's dad reconstructs houses as a hobby and to produce income in his retirement.



The house they are in now I would never leave. It is on a lake and absolutely gorgeous. Here are a couple of my pictures looking toward the house from the lagoon and vise versa.






On Monday, we headed to Belleville, MI to go to Jen's grandparents, and then out on the plane the next day. On the way we stopped at an outlet mall and a very large Borders store in an effort of Jen's to reward me for spending several days with her family. She is a thoughtful and kind girlfriend like that.

We also watched Knocked Up (funny because if you are under 40 you know people like all of the characters in the story, and because it pokes fun at most of our common fears about pregnancy and such), went to an Indian Casino that Jen used to deal blackjack at.

All in all, it was a great new adventure.

Digging Deep in the Walmart Garden

So, about a week ago, I decide to go to Walmart and look at getting a plant. I am trying to make my small deck more about beauty and prayer. Part of the plan is adding some plants to my little outdoor space, so that the space can be a small personal worship and reflection space.

So I looked, and looked and looked. After wandering around Walmart for a while, I decided to sit with Jen in the rocking chairs in the garden department. After exchanging pleasantries about how nice it was outside, how good it smelled, etc. I started to think about owning a plant. I told Jen, "I am not sure I am ready for the commitment of owning a plant. Owning a plant is a big commitment. First you buy the plant, then you have to repot, buy pots, soil, and so much more. Its a big commitment if you are going to do it right."

There was laughter, then there was silence.

"So what does that say about me ever having kids if owning a plant is too big of commitment." I said.

"Exactly" Jen replied.

And then we both laughed really, really hard.

Then, I went and bought a couple of plants.

Race, Entertainment and Spor\ts

I do not watch awards shows. They are boring, and watching the Oscars is about as masculine as dancing around the room listening to show tunes. However, as I watched the movie "Goodfellas" with Jen I also kept track of the academy awards on the computer (This seemed a little bit more manly than actually watching the show--and I did not have to watch all the foo-foo-a-roo waiting to watch the show)





One of the things that impressed me about the choices was that the racial diversity of the winners was not an issue, which makes it seem to me that we are making a little bit of progress. Forrest Whitaker is one of my favorite actors, so it was great to see him win for a movie I plan to see this week.



Even more, I thought it was interesting to see a book review on ESPN about the book BLACK ICE, which is about the black role in the development of modern hockey. It seems the hidden truth is that black folk may have been a part of the invention of hockey (part of an interracial group of people who was playing in the first game), and more clearly inventors of many modern innovations in the game (such as the slap shot) in Nova Scotia.

How cool!

My moto robs my mojo

Update: The problem, it turned out, was that the positive battery cable was not properly attached. Thankfully, the new mechanic did not charge me. It makes me very thankful that I was well taken care of, and very angry at Walmart. I am trying my best to boycott Wally World now.

There are lots of wonderful things about my car. She has a wonderful heads up display, a fairly decent stereo, she handles fairly well, and she gets fairly decent gas mileage. But right now I am angry with her. And Walmart.

All of this started in November, when I discovered everytime a storm mosied through our area, my battery would have a hard time getting the car started. So, I would be flagging down folks here and there to help me get her batteries recharged.

Well, the frequency of these difficulties became such that I had to take my car in to get a new battery the night before my mother was scheduled to arrive for Christmas. And, the only place affordable to get a battery that was open was Walmart. So I drove up the hill in the beginning of the big blizzard on the 18th to get a new battery in the car just in time for my mother to arrive.

Mom did not arrive until the 26th. And on the 27th we went to a movie and as we came out from the late movie the car was dead and once again needed a jump. After we got home and we could not get the car started the next day, I called a tow truck to get the car to a shop to get the battery looked at again. As the tow guy came out, he recognized that my problem was a loose battery cable and fixed the problem temporarily. He recommended I take it back to the shop I got the battery from and have it reinstalled. When I went back to Walmart they told me that the problem was not the battery but the alternator. In the middle of another blizzard I slid down the road to the nearest Firestone. They ran an electrical system check. Guess what the problem was! Loose battery cable.

Fast forward to this week. This time my car died completely. With passengers heading home from Bible Study. My friend Ken came to jump me, and in order to get it started he had to wiggle the fuse box. Everything seemed fine. Then, Saturday I am showing Jen the clubhouse at my apartment, and we jump in the car to go watch a DVD at my place. Again, the car goes blank. The key is stuck in the ignition, and this time the doors are locked with no possibility of unlocking them. We are stuck in the car! Once again, I had a friend come bail us out, and he gets the car started by moving the fuse box around.

The car died again this morning. Luckily the door was unlocked. And as I investigated the wire work I noticed that the fuse box is completely unmounted in my vehicle, and that although none of the cords seem damaged, the plastic tube all of the electrical wire was bundled in has a clear cut (as opposed to a break) in it for 2-3 inches. In other words, the folks at Walmart not only messed up installing my battery cables, they messed up my fuse box and electrical system in my car. And, from the looks of things they did this knowelgably and without communicating with me what they did. The problem is, I have no recourse since I had to go to Firestone to get the vehicle running right.

So now, until I can get in at the shop I have start the car with the door open, and keep the doors unlocked most of the time. I have to be prepared to go manipulate the fuse box to charge the battery to get myself from point a to point b.

This car is now both embarrassing and scary. The sad thing is....I still have a ways to go to pay the darned thing off.

Inconceivable!

Last weekend, while laid up in the house with a knee injury my friend Jen brought over some movies and we watched the movie "An Inconvienient Truth" featuring former Vice President Albert Gore Jr.

In spite of the surprising outakes from Futurama, it was a worthwhile movie to watch. It is especially valuable as a DVD because you can talk to each other and to Al (even though he is not listening) about what is being said. We both thought that Al's personal story was a rather lame insertion into the documentary and wish he would not have included it.


He makes the very clear argument that global warming is not in any way even debated in scientific circles, but rather it is assumed as a known fact. Statistically he shows how this bears out. For the most part I agree with him here, except that the scientific world can be elitist and often does not accept divergent opinions in its most elite magazines. What I found ironic is that after this they show him in some gas guzzling, high emisssions vehicle lecuring us about global warming. This seemed a little hypocritical to me.

The arguments about the melting of ice caps was also compelling as you watched ice melting into the ocean. Gore showed how glaciers kept time in years like trees, and how scientists can notice the significant difference in the health of the ice in Antartica after the Clean Air Act was passed.

I catalogued a few quotes here from the movie that I thought were good and well-researched.

Since the movie, I have been rethinking the relationship between the Christian faith and the environmental movement, and hope to share more in the next few days.

Check out Jen's Blog

My friend Jen has a blog that she has started that features her poetry and photography. It is really neat.
You need to check out Continued Contemplation and give her some encouragement!

From Friday in OCC with Jen

Coffee Talk

I am getting verklempt. Talk among yourselves.

Topic for discussion:

Does the world make sense or do we make sense of the world?
(from Jen Lemen's blog)