QUIET DESPERATION

Melissa and I had the opportunity to have dinner alone with Caleb last night before he headed back to El Paso today. 

I asked him how his acquaintances in the military compare to those he knew in college. 

As I suspected, a great many seem to be living rather shallow lives - their time spent on chasing sexual conquests, drinking alcohol, and playing video games. 

Reminds me of the famous Henry David Thoreau line: "The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation." 

Hedonism often does a good job of masking the desperation underneath, but it can never erase it. 

One can only hope that as the younger generation matures at least some will seek out the deeper things of life - and perhaps even find God. 

God intended that [humanity] would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. Acts 17:27 (Paul flatly contradicts the tenets of Calvinism here, by the way.)

Jesus warned, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy" and then added this profound contrast: "I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness."

It's a night and day difference.

TOO MUCH

 All the kids are home and I have decided to spend as little time at my computer as possible while it lasts. 

Sharing meaningful quotes, though, is always quick and easy, so here's one from scientist Donella Meadows I came across in James Clear's newsletter:

"There is too much bad news to justify complacency. There is too much good news to justify despair."

Everything in me yells "Amen!" at this thought. 

And I'd like to think that this is how I approach life in general. 

UNLEARNING

James Clear is aware of the trap of confirmation bias:

"The more an idea is tied to your identity, the more you will ignore evidence it is false. People seem to have no trouble finding reasons to ignore the merits of ideas they dislike."

Is this why people invest so much energy in theological arguments? I can't think of too many things more closely tied to our own sense of identity than our beliefs about God and humanity. 

Clear continues with a concise description of what some call "beginner's mindset": "To continue to grow and learn, you must be willing to update, expand, and edit your identity. In many ways, growth is unlearning." 

"Unlearning" is a crucial aspect of learning. Preachers and teachers within the church need to be aware of this.

A good teacher must have a good handle on 1) what he himself needs to unlearn and then 2) what his audience needs to unlearn. 

A, B, AND C

"If, of three friends (A, B, and C), A should die, then B loses not only A but "A's part in C," while C loses not only A but "A's part in B." In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets." (C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves)

Several months ago, two longtime supporters of Mission Resource, Steve and Clark, responded to my general invitation to accompany me to Ghana to witness the ministry's work firsthand. 

Several other men expressed interest but then dropped out for one reason or another.

I have known Clark for at least a decade at this point, but Steve was a complete stranger. Clark works in investments and knows the ins and outs of finance. Steve is a retired judge with a quirky sense of humor. 

Each brought something unique and valuable to our time in Ghana with our director there, Emmanuel. 

One night in particular I was keenly aware that I was in the midst of an important discussion that simply would not have happened if I had traveled solo. 

Each of the three of us drew out different facets of this experience in Ghana for each other. This is the nature of teamwork. I am now glad to call these two men my brothers.

Steve is to the left of me and Clark on the right, just after we finished touring the Elmina Slave Castle. 

SHARING

Spending time in the developing world leads inevitably to lots of reflection on the nature of charity and generosity and my own responsibility to my fellow man. 

And that gets rather uncomfortable. Because, honestly, there's a part of me that wishes I could shut out all the needs and inequalities and the suffering of others. It's tempting to throw up your hands and ask, "What difference can I make anyway?"

But Scripture doesn't leave that as an option. 

Here's a passage I came across this week as I have been working on a Thanksgiving weekend sermon:

Hebrews 13:9 - Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Perhaps I was looking for some loophole here, but I decided to investigate the word that is being translated as "share" in this command - and I ended up with a surprise.

Turns out it's one of the words which might already be familiar to you if you know anything about the original Greek of the New Testament: koinonia.

This is the word that is typically translated as "fellowship" - meaning sharing together in life, bonding over commonalities. 

The author of Hebrews says, in effect, "Fellowship what you have with one another". 

I'm not sure exactly what this means - I've got more chewing to do - but it seems to encompass much more than simply writing a check to a worthy charity.

The sense of fellowship - the koinonia - with the amazing individuals we have met this week has been what has made our time so special, meaningful, and memorable.  

SUNDAY IN THE MUD

This past Sunday morning did not go as planned. 

Not in the least. 

And what a shame since it was our only Sunday in Ghana this trip.

After breakfast at the guesthouse in Sogakope, we had a 30-minute drive to Pastor Ernest's church in Akplale. There we would worship with the congregation and I was to preach the morning's message. 

I woke up ready and excited about the opportunity. 

BUT a heavy storm had passed through Saturday afternoon and Emmanuel knew the only road to Akplale would be flooded. 

Ernest had called to say the road was fine and we should still come. And to his credit, Emmanuel navigated several treacherous patches of mud before meeting his match.

The brown water covering this stretch of road had hidden a ditch dug along the left side. Our rear tire slid into it and we came to an abrupt stop. 

At first Emmanuel insisted that Clark, Steve, and I remain in the truck since there was no way to exit the vehicle that didn't involve stepping into mud. Emmanuel made a valiant effort with his machete (where did that come from?) to cut branches to stuff under the tire for traction. 

But to no avail. 

We three passengers eventually defied orders, removed our socks and shoes, rolled up our pant legs, and joined Emmanuel in the mud.

Even 3 pushing and one hitting the gas didn't get us any traction and Emmanuel finally called Ernest and asked for help. 

And about 15 minutes later we heard voices approaching from the brush and about 15 men, women, and children appeared - all dressed in their Sunday best. 

More branches were chopped and added to the mud. And with all of us pushing and rocking the truck in rhythm, and with Emmanuel behind the wheel, the truck finally broke free - nearly two hours after getting stuck.

Of course when Emmanuel broke free, he gunned the engine to get to drier ground and sprayed everyone behind the truck with copious amounts of mud. (I was pushing from the side. 😉)

The church members were too busy rejoicing in our success to be too bothered by the mud. Still, Steve insisted on giving them some money for their trouble and one of the matriarchs accepted the gift - most reluctantly. 

It was only at this point that I realized these people weren't even from the church we were meant to visit! Ernest had called some friends at a church much closer to where we were stuck so that help would arrive as quickly as possible.  

The man in the middle below - who had been dressed in pristine white from head to toe at his arrival - was their Pastor, David!

Once people shook the loose mud free, most of the kids jumped into the back of the pickup for a ride back to their church building. They were a mess - but all smiles!

Did I mention how hot it was and how sweaty everyone was beneath the mud?

Here's the church building they had come from:

 

I'm not sure if these fine people went back and picked up the worship where it left off or not, but we had completely missed the service at Ernest's church, so we went to get cleaned up and prepare for lunch.

So in the end, none of the four of us heard a sermon that morning. 

But we saw one. 

 

 

SATURDAY IN SOGAKOPE

My day started around 4:00 am, but that was OK since I had gone to bed at 8:00 pm. 

Ultimately, we enjoyed a great day of meeting some of Mission Resource's beneficiaries around the town of Sogakope. 

Thanks to jetlag, I am too tired to write tonight, so I will just post some photos of the day. 

BLESSED IN GHANA

It's 7:15 pm here in Ghana and I am ready to hit the sack soon - there was no sleeping for me (or the other two guys) on the plane last night. 

And even if I HAD slept, it wouldn't have been enough. We deplaned at 7:00 am local time - which is 2:00 am Indiana time. 

Then we made our way through customs - with minimum hassles from officials over the 2 SmartBoxes we were bringing into the country. 

Upon leaving the airport in Emmanuel's pickup, we drove straight to Beacon International School and its founder, Samuel Yeboah, who was eagerly awaiting the gifts. 

It turns out that Beacon is quite an impressive school and Samuel an impressive individual.  I thoroughly enjoyed meeting him and came away thinking, "This is someone who makes things happen. I need to stay in contact with this guy!"

Our day was rounded out by a delicious dinner at Emmanuel's house which included grasscutter stew. 

It wasn't bad for meat from a giant rodent. 😉

Now I am alone on the balcony of a hotel. There's a cool (enough) breeze and a full moon and I am very conscious of being incredibly blessed by God. 

OFF TO ACCRA

It is 4:30 pm and I am typing this post on my phone as I sit on a giant Delta airplane ready to depart JFK for Accra, Ghana. 

The flight is just over 9 hours. God willing, we will arrive by 7 am local time - which will be 2 am in Indiana. So I am anticipating losing a night of sleep! 

I am traveling with 2 other guys and that will make this a very different experience from my first trip 2 years ago. I am looking forward to getting to know them better. 

It's impossible to know what this trip will hold, of course, but I have an anticipation of great things. Only God knows. 

I would appreciate your prayers for Melissa and Sarah and especially for Grandma Trudy while I am away! 

GHANA ITINERARY

Not much time tonight for writing. I leave for a 10-day trip to Ghana two days from now and I have been running around like a head with my chicken cut off (as my friend Tim likes to say).

So I am posting the trip itinerary that was created by our Ghanaian director for Mission Resource, Emmanuel.

He will be the one picking us up from the airport and getting us everywhere we need to be.

I post the itinerary here hoping that maybe your curiosity would be piqued and cause YOU to picture yourself coming along next time. 😉

Itinerary for November 2024 Trip to Ghana

Friday the 15th

• Arrival
• Travel to Aburi to donate the SmartBoxes to Samuel Yeboah at Beacon School
• Dinner with Emma family
• Stay at Gbetsile

Saturday the 16th

• Visit businesses under Ernest
• Stay at Akplale

Sunday the 17th

• Church at Akplale
• Stay at Segakope

Monday the 18th

• Visit the Mission Center at Old Ningo
• Dinner with Ernestina
• Stay at Gbetsile

Tuesday the 19th

• Visit Just by Grace
• Stay in Nsawam/Accra

Wednesday the 20th

• Travel to Elmina Slave Castle
• Visit Empowerment Foundation
• Stay in Elmina

Thursday the 21st

• Travel to Accra
• Visit Precious Kids Academy
• Stay in Gbetsile

Friday the 22nd

• Visit businesses in Ashaiman
• Dinner with Enoch
• Stay in Gbetsile

Saturday the 23rd

• Departure

WE ARE OLYMPIANS

Author Derek Sivers was on the Modern Wisdom podcast recently and gave an illustration that highlights how counterintuitive and illogical human reactions are.

He paints a picture of three Olympic athletes standing on the winner's platform after their competition and asks, "Which one is happiest?"

Well, the Gold Medalist is happiest, of course.

But then Sivers asks, "Who is the next happiest?"

Your first instinct would be to say the Silver Medalist would be next in line, but then you pause and consider the situation... Maybe not?

Sivers maintains that the second happiest is the Bronze Medalist and his reasoning has the ring of truth to it.

The Bronze Medalist is thinking, "Out of all those who competed, I am one of the few to stand here and represent my country before the entire world. If I had been a fraction of a second slower, I wouldn't be here, but I made it to the platform!"

On the other hand, the Silver Medalist is the least happy of all on the platform - by a long shot. He is standing there thinking, "I just barely missed it - if only I had pushed myself a little harder, I could have had the gold. I could have been first place."

I think Sivers is right. And I think it says something profound about how we allow our minds to frame our experiences. 

MASTERY

No time or energy for writing tonight beyond sharing a quote from author, musician, and entrepreneur Derek Sivers:

“Mastery is the best goal because the rich can’t buy it, the impatient can’t rush it, the privileged can’t inherit it, and nobody can steal it. You can only earn it through hard work. Mastery is the ultimate status.”

It has only been later in my life that I have come to understand the value of mastering a skill or discipline. Now I feel like I have one overarching drive - the desire to understand my faith at a far deeper level.

And with greater understanding comes more effective practice.

I wasn't familiar with Sivers before coming across this snippet of his thinking about "mastery" in an email newsletter, but now I am curious to hear more of what he has to say. 

After a little searching, I discovered that Sivers was a recent guest on one of the podcasts I find most useful: Modern Wisdom with Chris Williamson. 

Tomorrow morning, as I fix breakfast for Melissa and Sarah, I plan to find out what else this Derek Sivers fellow is thinking about.

DISSERTATION PROGRESS - COLOSSIANS

This morning I finally located the Bible book, the passage, and the verse where I want to focus for my dissertation work. 

The book is Paul's letter to the Colossians.

The passage is this one from Chapter 3:

5 Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience. 7 When you lived among them, you also used to walk in these ways. 8 But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

9 Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices, 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.

12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity. 

And the sentence within which really brings together the elements of my dissertation is found in verses 9-10:

Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices, and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 

The reference to the "practices" of the "old self" and "new self" is tied to habits, both bad and good.

The talk of "knowledge" highlights the centrality of a disciple being taught (and thus the need for the church to take education seriously). 

And the focus on restoring the "image of the Creator" ties the New Testament teaching about Christ back to the Old Testament - Genesis in particular - where humanity is created "in the image of God". 

I will undoubtedly write more about this in the future, but for now I am just glad to have some direction on this - a key component of my project and one which had not yet felt settled. 

AWE WALKING

This morning I wrote a little article for our Mission Resource newsletter about something called an "awe walk". 

An awe walk is simply an ordinary walk plus an intentional focus on finding things along the way which inspire wonder. 

This has actually been researched and found to be a great stress reducer as well as a way to feel more connected to all the deeper aspects of life.

Anyway, I decided that if I was going to write about it, I should try it. Fortunately, it was a beautiful morning for a walk, so I put Sugar on the leash and went out for a mile.

I found that in one sense, an awe walk is harder than it sounds. It's like trying to meditate - my mind was constantly wandering.

But in another sense, if you're looking for wonder, it isn't hard to find. 

It's all around you. Every day.

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they reveal knowledge.

(Psalm 19:1-2)

A marigold in our backyard, enjoying the November morning sun. No filter needed.

THE DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

This year more than ever, my favorite part of an election is the defeated candidate's concession speech and the phone call to the winner. 

And not just because it signals a true end to the campaigning and that the outcome is not going to be contested for weeks.

Rather, it's my favorite because it is the closest any politician ever gets to admitting outright that their political rhetoric is 99% hyperbole and BS.

Day before the election: "We must win this fight. If my opponent wins, it will be the end of democracy itself and our nation will have no future whatsoever. Don't forget - the other guy is worse than Hitler and will begin creating concentration camps on Day 1 of his administration. Lives will be lost if he is elected."

Day after the election: "I called my opponent today and congratulated him on winning this hard-fought battle. I pledge to do all in my power to help him get started well and I will make every effort now to bring unity to this divided nation." 

A REPEATED LIE

"Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth."

The internet is split in attributing this quote to Lenin, Hitler, and Goebbels. 

The uncertainty, ironically, does not stop the attributions from being repeated - until they become accepted truth. 

There is a theological lie that gets repeated often and, thus, taken for truth, and it drives crazy every time I hear it: "Jesus taught more about hell than about heaven". 

You will find this sentence in the mouths of way too many preachers, from the unknown to the famous, but I don't believe I have ever heard anyone even attempt to quantify it with hard data.

It wouldn't be hard to do. There are plenty of tools online these days to help - you wouldn't even have to reread the four Gospels with a highlighter in hand.

In fact, all it takes is a little thought and reflection and you would instantly see the impossibility of Jesus teaching more about hell than heaven. 

If you DID quantify it, you would find - like this guy - that Jesus spoke on heaven at least five times as much as on hell. 

I'm not sure why people get so invested in promoting a hell of eternal torture that they have to resort to obvious lies to bolster their position. 

Satan, being the Father of Lies, undoubtedly approves.

CONSTRUCTIVE GREED

It's strange - I won't preach again until three weeks from today. And that will be the Sunday before Thanksgiving!

(Time continues to pass at an ever increasing rate these days!)

Next Sunday is our annual Harvest Day and there will be a special speaker for the morning. The following Sunday I will be in Ghana, God willing.

Assuming my flights are all on time, I should be back in the pulpit on the 24th.

And I already know what direction that sermon will take. 

The typical Thanksgiving sermon is on gratitude and contentment, but I plan to invert that and focus on things we should be greedy for.

This thought occurred to me in connection with a passage I touched on this morning in 1 Corinthians 14 where Paul tells his audience of believers to eagerly desire spiritual gifts. 

And generally speaking, when it comes to anything we can get our hands on to further our spirits, we are never to grow content in this lifetime. We are to want more, more, more.

Like a greedy kid at Christmas.

When greed is pointed at having more of the comforts of heaven in the here and now, it is destructive.

But when greed is pointed at having more of the God of heaven in the here and now, it is endlessly constructive.

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses

MOSES' WISH

Numbers 11 tells the fascinating story of Moses and God getting frustrated with the Israelites as they complain about having nothing but manna to eat.

They want meat and they have fond memories of the food they used to enjoy back in Egypt - when they were SLAVES.

There's material here for several different sermons.

But this week I was focused on the tail end of the story. God eases Moses' burden by calling out 70 other leaders and taking some of the Spirit that is on Moses and spreading that Spirit among the 70.

And "when the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied". 

I think the average church member hears that word "prophesy" and envisions these 70 men making weird, symbolic pronouncements of events that would occur hundreds of years in the future.

But is that what the Israelites were needing at the moment?

What they needed was correction, rebuke, and guidance. Perhaps a reminder of God's faithfulness and provision in the past. 

That seems to be what is meant by prophesying in the New Testament, anyway, and it makes sense here.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14, "1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. 2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. 3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort."

There's a curious epilogue in the story of Moses and the 70 new prophets of Numbers 11. Two of the men never left the camp to join the big gathering of leaders and they end up prophesying back at the camp among other people. Joshua finds this to be out of order and tells Moses that he ought to stop them.

At this point, Moses does a bit of foreshadowing of a big change coming in the future:

29 But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”

Now and then you hear a little talk about speaking in tongues, but when was the last time you heard any teaching on prophesying in the local church? And yet, according to Paul, this is the big advantage of living in this current era of the human story: We have the Spirit and He can speak through us to edify the Body of Christ.

I need to do more thinking, reading, and praying about this because I confess my own ignorance and fear of this aspect of what the church is meant to be doing. 

MORE FIBER

After getting into a verbal tussle with a fellow believer in the comments section of a YouTube video* today, I just feel the need to say this:

If your faith makes you angry, judgmental and humorless, you are doing something very wrong.

God invited you into His family to be His son or daughter, not His theological pit bull. 

Although my opponent questioned my salvation, I did not return the favor.

Imagine calling a fellow believer's salvation into question based on a few sentences back and forth on the internet! 

So I did not suggest that he himself was unsaved - but I did wonder aloud if he was getting enough fiber in his diet.

*If you're curious about the venom this brother spat at me, just look at the discussion under this video HERE by James White. The video highlights some interesting squabbles recently among Calvinists resulting from some creeping antisemitism in their ranks. You'll have to click on the replies under my original comment/question. I am "mrgrossism" and I asked, "This development begs the question: What is it about reformed theology that opens a door to antisemitism?"

SEEING THE POTENTIAL

On Monday, my friend Chris with Heart of Africa made the trip down to Columbus from Fort Wayne (3 hours) to demonstrate a SmartBox to a group of business men and women at my BNI meeting early Tuesday morning. 

Two weeks ago when I had asked him if he was willing to make the drive, Chris didn't hesitate. But Monday afternoon I started wondering if it was really worth his time to make a trip just to sit through a 90 minute meeting where he would get to show off the SmartBox before and after for just a few minutes. 

The SmartBox is a computer lab in a box - an ingenious configuration of 20 Chromebooks linked to a 1 TB hard drive via a self-contained router. The hard drive hosts a full K through 12 curriculum, maps, Bible studies, typing programs, and even full books. 

A single SmartBox could revolutionize the education of kids in the typical wooden bench in a tin roof shack village school in the developing world. 

It certainly sounds like a good idea.

And my experience with Chris at the BNI meeting reminded me that there really is something to "seeing is believing". He and the Box were both very well received. 

To see it in person really gets people dreaming of the potential and wanting to be a part of such an inspired idea. 

Sherri and Roger (left) were the last to leave the meeting after extended conversation with Chris (right) 

The BNI group and other individuals are working to fund a SmartBox for a pioneering educator named Samuel Yeboah and his Beacon School in Ghana. (Each SmartBox costs $8,000 to produce.) God willing, we will be taking it with us two weeks from now and delivering it in person.

If you are interested in jumping on board with this project, I have set up a fundraising site at https://givebutter.com/smartbox . We would be so grateful for your support!

We are currently 67% of the way to our goal. 

NOT ENOUGH TIME

I can't even cope with November's arrival the day after tomorrow. When I get my computer back, I need to get serious about moving forward with my dissertation. 

I reserved a date for my youth retreat which is supposed to become the cornerstone of my project. And I feel pretty confident that I can get my curriculum together by the time that weekend rolls around at the end of January.

BUT - I still have not reworked my prospectus and there's no guarantee that it will be quickly or automatically accepted when I do. 

And at this point, it has been so long since I last worked on the prospectus, I am not even sure I can remember what I need to do to address my professor's original criticisms.

The time crunch makes me very anxious - especially since I leave two weeks from tomorrow for a 10 day trip to Ghana. That means these next two weeks will be extra busy. And then I will return and step right into Thanksgiving!

And after Thanksgiving? I am having trouble convincing myself that I will have time and energy to do my academic work during the lead up to Christmas! (And rightly so!)

Often, writing things out like this helps to ease my anxiety, but tonight ... not so much. 

ABSENTMINDED

I was a bonehead today and invited extra stress into my life.

And the day was going so well.

My friend Chris drove down last night from Fort Wayne - a nearly 3 hour trip. His mission was to demonstrate the SmartBox to my business networking group this morning at our 7:00 am meeting today. 

We left the house right on time, I threw my computer bag in his back seat and we drove to the Moose Lodge downtown. 

The meeting was fantastic. There was much interest in the SmartBox and we got a thousand dollar donation toward the $8,000 we are trying to raise to take one to Ghana with us in November. 

After the meeting Chris and I made a quick stop at home so I could grab my van to follow him up to another appointment in Indy. I had to drive myself since Chris would be continuing on home up north after we finished.

THAT meeting was also fantastic and raised even more funds toward our goal. 

Chris and I then had lunch and conversation before I drove the hour back home.

It wasn't until I pulled into my drive that I remembered my computer bag was still in Chris's backseat, now 2 hours north of me and speeding on to Fort Wayne! 

So I am typing this on my phone while I go through laptop withdrawal. 

This is bad. I have never been separated from my computer over night. 😉

The frustrating thing is that I didn't even need my computer today - I am just in the habit of taking it with me when I leave the house. 

COLLEGE VISIT

A little after 9:00 this morning, I picked Sarah up from her high school and drove an hour west to Bloomington for her first college visit: Indiana University. 

Currently she is thinking of following in her big sister's footsteps, pursuing a degree in interior design. She's also very interested in keeping the door open to further experience in fine arts. (She has really enjoyed working with ceramics these past few years.) 

It took me back to a visit I made to Herron School of Art in Indianapolis with my parents a few decades ago. Herron was on my list of possible schools, but it dropped quickly from my parents' list when my dad asked the admissions office what percentage of graduates went on to find employment related to their major.

The Herron representative hemmed and hawed a bit and then gave a percentage that brought a pronounced "I thought so" look to my dad's eyes. 

As I remember it, that was the end of any consideration of Herron. 

I ended up at Wabash pursuing a teaching degree - a more pragmatic choice.

I don't want this to sound like a criticism of my parents - they meant well - but today as I sat by Sarah during a presentation of IU's art school division, I thought, "If these people told me only 20% of the graduates end up in anything close to their dream jobs, it wouldn't bother me one bit - because Sarah's the type who will rise to the top."

I don't need a whole lot of faith in any particular school when I have plenty of faith in my kids. 

(Something like 91% of IU's artistic types end up employed or accepted to graduate programs, by the way. So ... All the better.)

TIME WITH THE BOYS

Caleb came home from El Paso for his mom's birthday weekend and Samuel was back from his trip out West and so we had 5 of the 6 of us together for a couple of days.

Caleb arrived in time to catch Melissa after school Thursday and before Sarah's big senior project/talent show/fundraiser at North High School.

Sarah was glad to have both brothers, Grandma Trudy, and Uncle D and Aunt Crystal in the audience, along with other friends.

She pulled together several acts with a variety of talent, fed them all pizza, introduced each act and performed in the final one herself. In the end she raised $360 for the performing arts program at her school.

On Saturday we got to spend time with Grandma and other family members at a little family reunion gathering at the Ogilville Fire Department. 

In the evening, Sarah went to work and Melissa and I drove to an apple orchard/winery in southern Indiana with the two boys. A super pleasant evening and a cherished family tradition that we rarely have everyone together for these days. Melissa and I were glad to take what we could get. 

(It's difficult to get a normal photo of Samuel sometimes.) 

Today we ended up with more time together than expected when Caleb's flight back to Texas got delayed. It caused Caleb some anxiety, but I wasn't complaining. 

Besides, it gave me one of my favorite moments from the whole weekend...

Samuel has been packing up things to to take with him to Atlanta, Georgia tomorrow - he's planning to move in with some friends down there and then look for a job somewhere in the area or with a distant company that will allow him to work remotely.

So Caleb (23) and Samuel (21) both decided that they would love to take a couple of their old Lego sets to put on the shelves of their new homes. I knew exactly where the Lego collection was and we pulled a big old suitcase out of the garage and onto the deck in the backyard.

The boys started poking through all the pieces and reminiscing and before you knew it, they were crouched down, searching for disconnected pieces and reassembling Star Wars space ships. 

And Melissa and I were transported back in time for a few precious moments: