Management Material?

Our middle daughter Erin has been working as a server at the Kansas City Country Club while she is going to school in KC. While at home for Thanksgiving, she was telling us that she got a call from the general manager who said he wanted to speak to her. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be able to help but get a little apprehensive about getting a call like that. Maybe it's from past experience....

Anyway, she met with him, and he told her that her boss recently was promoted, and he asked her if she would be willing to serve as an interim supervisor of the various dining areas in the CC until they found a permanent one. She would do all the scheduling and trouble shooting. He said that they would have considered offering it to her full time if she were finishing up with her schooling now. Darn!!

Oh well, this will be great experience for her, and will give her a chance to see if she likes a position in management. Maybe things will work out and they will have a place for her permanently when she is done a year from now.

21 years old and already working in management. You go girl!!

De Colores

Snow???

Yesterday (the day after Thanksgiving) I was privileged to spend the evening with my whole family at home. You don't realize just how special those times are until they move away from home. The girls tried their hand at making some new soups. Something like butternut squash and pumpkin something something. It was an adventure (sorry for the comments last night Erin, that wasn't very fatherly of me). I guess I'm still just a boring guy who likes tried and true foods.

Erin wanted to help decorate the Christmas tree, so I brought it up out of the basement and set it up. I can't remember the last time I got to sit and watch all the ornaments get put on it. They reminisced about ones they made years ago in preschool. They couldn't believe our "First Christmas Together" ornament was still even holding together!! Hey, it's only been 26 years since we got it!! Watching them decorate it brought back a flood of memories, both for them and for me. It was great.

When we went to bed last night, a light snow was falling. The weatherman said that we should only get a light dusting, or maybe up to an inch. I woke up this morning to at least 2 or 3 inches on the ground!! It is very pretty out. It was a wet snow, so I'd guess that a lot of it will be gone by the end of the day.

Mary Beth Bowers' father Charles Kjellin passed away and his funeral is this morning. I was privileged to be asked to sing at his service this morning, so I'd better go get my vocal chords warmed up.

God is good, all the time!!

DeColores

Varsity Blues

Brian came home from basketball practice with a cheesy grin on his face a couple of days ago. He said that the coach was handing out uniforms and asked Brian what number he wanted. He said he wanted the same number as he had last year, and the coach told him that he didn't have a varsity uniform with that number. It took Brian a second or two to figure out what he meant!!
He came home from practice last night and had his new uniform and warm ups with him. He's pretty excited to be a part of the varsity team. Sure, he'll mostly play JV, and will be down towards the end of the bench at varsity games, but he's pretty proud to be wearing the varsity blues as a sophomore. Ready or not, basketball season is here!!

We're heading to my brother Terry's for Thanksgiving Day. I'm frying a turkey at home, and then will try and figure out how to pack it up for a 30 mile trip to Newton. Should be good!!

Amanda and husband Chad, and Erin are coming home Friday to spend the day with us. I can't wait to see them, even if it's only for a day or so. I am so proud of them and what they have become as young adults. Thank God they had a good mother!!

Once again, God has blessed our family this past year beyond measure. It is appropriate that we stop and give thanks for all His blessings. Actually, every day should be a day of thanksgiving.

Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.

DeColores

Steadfast

Ah fall, that wonderful time of the year when nature signals an impending change with beautiful colors. Our mums are some of the thickest, most beautiful ones that we have ever had. Our little autumn blaze maple tree that we planted a couple of years ago is turning some impressive shades of orange and reds. Several flocks of geese have been honking their way over our house. The turkeys have been out in the vally looking for the last few remaining grasshoppers of the summer. I saw a small buck trailing a doe yesterday...well, we won't get into specifics on that one!!

All around us, we see signals that the season is changing once again. Before we know it, it will be cold, the snow will start flying, and we will be counting the days until spring arrives to thaw us out.

As good as change can be, I am so thankful that God never changes!! He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. In this constantly changing world, it is comforting to know that God is always by our side. Even on those days when we don't feel close to Him, rest assured, He is there!! All we have to do is call on His name.

James 17:1 says "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

Thank God for His unchanging love and grace!!

De Colores

The Gift Of Life

Today, our high school key club sponsored a blood drive with the American Red Cross. I hadn't given blood (at least intentionally) for many years, so I thought it was time to start donating again.

The first thing I noticed when I entered the building was the diversity of donors. As it was sponsored by the Key Club, there were a bunch of high school students (you have to be at least 16 years old and have parental consent) lined up to donate. On the other end of the spectrum, I saw my step mom there, as well as quite a few other "senior citizens". I figured if they could all give blood, then heck, so could I!!

Well, I survived. It was relatively painless, and I didn't pass out, which is a good thing! Plus it made me feel good that I in a very small way did something to help out mankind. I'm kinda tired, but most days that seems to be fairly normal, even without having a pint of blood sucked out of my veins!!

If you have a blood drive in your community soon, I encourage you to donate. You'll be glad you did!

De Colores

Emmaus & Other Thoughts

What an awesome time we had at the Walk To Emmaus this past weekend in Garden City!! I was a part of the music team that led praise and worship singing on the men's Walk. Words can't even begin to describe what God did in the lives of the men who said YES and attended the Walk. The women's Walk begins tomorrow (10-25) and lasts through Sunday. The next set of Walks are in Augusta, and will be held April 10-13 for the men and April 17-20 for the women. Let me know if you're interested!!

Brian's last football game of the season is tomorrow night against perennial powerhouse Hesston. They are ranked in the top 5 in Class 3A. The Warriors' promising season is ending on a sour note, as they have lost their last 2 games, and barring a miracle, will probably lose this one, and end up with a 4-5 record. They have had some bad luck along the way, suffered some significant injuries to key players, and made some mistakes at critical points in the games they have lost. It's hard at this point to not look ahead to next season, as they currently have 6 sophomores playing regularly on varsity, and quite a few juniors that are starting. Plus, Hesston is moving up to 4A, and we won't have to deal with them any longer!! I know it's a cliche', but "Just wait until next year".....

My mother in law Viola is not doing very well. She has congestive heart failure, and is in the hospital at Wichita. We would covet your prayers for Viola, as well as for Lori and the rest of the family.

Off To Emmaus

Getting ready to load up with good friend Rod Just and head to the big metropolis of Garden City, Kansas for the fall Walk To Emmaus!! Rod and I are on the Music Team. Over the next few days (Thurs - Sunday) we'll play tons of songs, eat lots of food, and enjoy watching God pour out His blessings on the folks who attend. We would covet your prayers as we serve God in this wonderful capacity.

De Colores!!

When Bad Things Happen

I have really be wrestling internally with the question of why when some people are faced with a life threatening crisis, they are spared, while others are not and they die. How does God decide who lives and who dies? Or even more confusing to me, does God even have anything to do with it at all, or does He allow life to continue or end without intervention in most cases?

I have a very good friend here in town who seems to throw barbs at church, christianity, or religion in general every opportunity he gets. I found out that he lost his first wife to cancer when they were just a young married couple with small children. He prayed to God to heal his wife, but she died anyway. He became so embittered that he has basically denounced God. I can't imagine being in that position. The closest I came is when my mom died of cancer at 58 which seemed too young, but even this doesn't compare to the anguish he must have felt when he lost his wife when she was just in her 20's. My middle daughter was diagnosed with cancer when she was just 2, and she was healed. Why did my daughter not die, and yet my mom did? Don't get me wrong, I'm so thankful that she was healed; it just lends to my confusion.

SO here it is...do you think that God makes every decision and controls every event in every life on this earth, both good or bad, or does He sit back and let our choices and circumstances dictate what happens to us, and only intervenes when he wants to?

I am waiting for the right opportunity to try and talk to my friend about his anger towards God, but I'm not sure how to go about trying to tell him that sometimes bad things happen, but we just have to have faith that God is in control. It is easy to say when a bad situation turns out to be ok, but one of the most difficult things to hold on to when life goes out of control.

Anyone out there who can give me some easy to understand insights that I can pass on to my friend?

De Colores

The Agony Of Defeat

The MHS Warriors had their showdown with their arch rival Hillsboro Trojans last night. The game started off ominously, with a 50 minute lightening delay in the first quarter. The Trojans started off fast, and claimed a 13-0 halftime lead. The Warriors came out fired up in the second half and scored a touchdown with a minute left in the game to get within one point. We were going to go for two to try and win it right there, but an illegal procedure penalty forced us to try and kick an extra point. Brian is the kicker, and he kicked it right through!! Everyone (including dad) went crazy!!

The game went into overtime, and we had the ball first. We scored a touchdown, but Brian's next attempt was no good. Hillsboro got the ball, scored, and their extra point was good. Just like that, the Warriors experienced the agony of defeat.

Of course Brian is blaming the loss on himself. He thinks he let the team down. There were many events during the game that contributed to the loss. He'll have to learn the hard way that life is not all about successes, but that defeats are also a hard reality. All we can do is pick ourselves up and go on.

He and I are headed to Manhattan to watch the Wildcats play Colorado this eveing. I'll bet you that by the end of today, life will again be good for him.

Keep your head up Brian, you're doing fine.

De Colores

Football, Football, Football!!

This past Friday, our Warriors traveled to Lyons to take on the Lions (who had the sick sense of humor to name them the Lyons Lions??). They had one of those games where they dominated every aspect of the game, except the scoreboard. Fumbles and penalties killed us. Halfway through the 3rd quarter, we were only ahead 6-0. Finally, they cut out the mistakes and started playing some good football and ended up winning 28-0. They held Lyons to only 18 yards rushing for the game, so the defense was the obvious hero of the game.

With that good start to the weekend, I settled into the recliner to watch my KSU Wildcats dispatch of KU. Something went terribly wrong, and much to my dismay, I found myself looking at the score that couldn't be correct. I think this is the first time KU has beaten KSU at our home field since 1989. They had the same problems as the Warriors, too many mistakes.

OK, I thought my weekend could be salvaged with a victory by the KC Chiefs. After all, they seemed to have righted their ship somewhat the past couple of weeks, and were playing fairly well. WRONG!! Either the Chief's offense was as pathetic as it looked, or the Jaguar's defense was as good as it looked. Either way, the Chiefs lost, my weekend was ruined, and I was sick and tired of football.

Then came Monday evening, and Lori and I decided to go out to Warrior stadium and watch our JV play.......oh well, I guess we are gluttons for punishment.

Getting the guitar tuned up and my fingers toughened up for a whole bunch of music at the Walk To Emmaus next week. Ask me about it!!

De Colores

Old Settler's Day 2007

The little town of Marion celebrated another successful Old Settler's Day weekend. The weekend started with a Homecoming football game against state powerhouse Hoisington. The game started off rough for the young team, as Hoisington returned the opening kickoff back for a touchdown, and then blocked our first punt and returned it for a touchdown too. It was 28-0 at halftime. The Warriors came out in the second half determined not to allow a blowout, and actually outplayed them in the second half. We ended up on the bottom side of a 35-14 score, but everyone was proud of how the kids came out and played the second half. Brian was successful on both extra point attempts and played every down on offense. He also got to see a lot of action on defense.

On Saturday, downtown Marion was filled with several thousand people who came to watch the annual OSD parade. It was pretty impressive by our standards, as it took nearly 45 minutes to all go by. The above pictures are a shot of the parade as it was coming down the street, and a picture of Brian's sophomore float. He's riding on it.

Every MHS class from 2002 to 1947 in five year increments had a class reunion. They were recognized in the afternoon in the park. It's pretty impressive that so many classes got together to reunite and reminisce.

A fun weekend with lots to do!!

De Colores

Lessons From Nature

Yesterday evening I was mowing my yard, and a small covey of quail came out right at sunset to look for an evening snack. They made their way through my back yard, and stopped at our wildflower garden. A male hopped up on a boulder that I have in the garden, apparently standing guard. His job was to watch for anything that might pose a danger for the covey, and warn them. After a few minutes of looking for food, they moved along my fence line to another spot where I have another large rock. Sure enough, the male hopped up on the boulder and stood guard again until they made their way on out into the meadow.

How much is our Heavenly Father like that male quail. God stands guard over our lives and warns us of impending dangers. He is ever watchful, and makes sure that His people are safe. Proverbs 2:8 says "for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones."

God's lessons are evident everywhere in nature. I was fortunate enough last night to be reminded through these quail of God's steadfast love and protection for us.

De Colores

Warrior Update

The MHS Warriors are 3-1 on the season. After losing a tough, hard fought battle to Sterling two weeks ago, they traveled to Haven this past Friday. In spite of losing our starting tailback, middle linebacker and nose tackle to injuries, the Warriors were able to come away with a well deserved 19-0 shutout victory. The younger players stepped up and played hard, and filled the upper classmen's shoes admirably.

Brian played well (he's number 76 in this picture). He played every down on offense (right guard), and got to get in quite a few minutes on defense (tackle). He kicked an extra point, and handled all the kickoffs. He comes home from the games all beat up and bruised, but has a smile on his face, knowing he played as hard as he could.

This coming Friday will be the toughest test to date for the young Warrior team. Traditional powerhouse Hoisington invades Warrior stadium, and will try and play spoiler for our annual Homecoming festivities. They will be an extremely tough foe. The Warriors will have to play error free fottball, and get a few good breaks to have a chance to beat them. Hopefully our injured players will be healthy and ready to go.

GO WARRIORS!!

Bandwagon Christian

I chided my son on my last blog for being a bandwagon New York Yankees fan. I think I can legitimately pin this tag on him, because several years ago he was a "die hard" Denver Broncos fan, only because they were a powerhouse each year. When they fell from the top of the NFL's elite teams, he suddenly seemed to stop rooting for them. The Yankees, with their marquis lineup caught his attention, and for the last several seasons, they have become his team to root for.

It seems to be just as easy to be a "bandwagon Christian". When things are going well in our lives, it is easy to pray, worship, praise and generally be a Christian. It is when the times are tough in our lives that we are commitment to God is really put to the test. I personally find the most difficult time to be a true Christian is when I become discouraged. Doubts, fears and anger can take away the joy of following Christ. Bandwagon Christians look for earthly things to pick them up during these times. Spending money, drinking, sex, all these things are ways in which we try and push the discouragement out of our lives. Unfortunately, they are ultimately never successful. Only when we put our faith in Christ and look to Him for encouragement can we keep on going.

Isaiah 41:10 says "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Don't be a bandwagon Christian. Look to God for your strength in the good times, as well as the bad, and ulitimately, the victory will be ours!!

De Colores

Those "darn" Yankees!!

My son Brian is a die hard (bandwagon) Yankees fan. For his birthday, we got him tickets to see them play the KC Royals this past weekend. My daughters were able to join us, so it was great having the family all together, even if it was just for the day.

Unfortunately, the Royals lost (again). A-Rod hit another home run, and Mariano Rivera got another save, just like what happens about every game. I guess that's ok, as it was Brian's present, but darn, I hate the Yankees!!

As we have said for many seasons now, just wait until next year....

De Colores

2 - 0!!

The MHS Warrior gridiron team came away from Ellinwood with another victory last night, 28-6. This puts them at 2-0 for the young season. I'm not ready to declare them state champs yet, but hey, they have already matched the total number of wins from last season!! Brian got pretty beat up, as he spent most of the evening blocking a guy who was 6'3" and weighed 242 pounds. He's pretty sore today, but was glad that he got to play both ways for quite a bit of the game.
GO WARRIORS!!

De Colores

Freedom Train

We had a really cool event happen here in the little "burb" of Marion, Kansas this morning. The "Freedom Train" a 1940's team locomotive stopped in town for about a half hour. On the train were 51 soldiers who were wounded in either Iraq or Afghanistan. The Patriot Guard showed up and close to 1,000 folks welcomed the soldiers and thanked them for serving this country and protecting our freedom. The Patriot Guard presented a flag to the soldiers in a touching ceremony. The train is owned by Union Pacific Railroad, and they are sponsoring this trip. The train will make it's way through small towns in Kansas, end up in Oklahoma, and then return in a couple of weeks.

Made you feel proud to be an American!!

De Colores

Friday Night Lights

The MHS Warriors were 14-2 winners at their season opening game vs Halstead!! It was a particularly sweet win for them, as all the newspapers in the area had them losing. Brian is a starting right guard for the team. Just being a sophomore, he is pretty happy that he gets to play. He is number 76 in the picture. Ol' dad is pretty happy with that number, as that was his number when he played at MHS back in the ????'s. Let's just say it was at least a generation ago!!

They have already won half as many games as they did all last year!!

GO WARRIORS!!

De Colores

Am I Crazy?

Lovely wife and I have been thinking about getting a different car for quite some time, and have been doing a lot of looking. Tradition says that you go to a car lot, have a salesman literally hold you captive in his office/cubicle until he wears you down and you relent and buy the car.

I turned to the internet, went to cars.com, typed in the kind of car we were wanting, and up popped page after page of cars. The one we ended up deciding on was in Omaha, Nebraska. Through emails and a couple of phone calls, we made the deal. We took a day off, drove to Omaha (a 4 hour drive), spent some time driving it around to decide it fit our needs, and in less than 30 minutes, owned the car!! No hassles, no headaches, just a long drive!!

If you are not afraid, it seems to me that the internet has opened up a world of opportunities.

Or am I just crazy!!

De Colores

Aulne UMC Building Dedication

On Sunday, August 26, 2007, the Aulne United Methodist Church held a dedication service and open house to commemorate the completion of our Fellowship Hall addition project. What a great time we had!! We are so fortunate that we were able to add this 3,000 square foot addition, complete with state of the art kitchen to our church, debt free!!

Nearly 150 people came out to our little church, worshiped with us, ate with us and helped us celebrate this achievement. God has truly blessed our church, and we are excited to see what blessings He has in store for us in the future as we utilize this addition in ways to glorify Him.

GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!!

De Colores