Board Games

Jason and I have had a board game marathon over the last several days.

Here are some of the games we've played thus far:

• Return of the Heroes - A great and not too complicated game with a "Lord of the Rings" kind of theme. The kids played with us as well, so that was fun. (Rylan won this one)
• Ticket to Ride Switzerland - a new expansion. (Kiley won this one)
• Triominoes - not a new game, but our wives wanted to play a game with us that had nothing to do with strategy (or thinking, but I can't say that out loud).
  
• Settler's of Catan Card Game - the original (I won this one)
• Settler's of Catan Card Game - Politics and Intrigue expansion (Jason won this one)
• Settler's of Catan Card Game - Knights and Barbarians Expansion (Jason won this one)
• Settler's of Catan Card Game - Wizards and Dragons Expansion (I won this one)

Life in the Black Hills

We took the red truck and drove down the river. There were several spots where the sand had been washed away by a recent storm and Tom and I had to dig our way across so the truck could struggle through. It was good, hard work and lots of fun. Once we arrived at “the Jones place” (so named because that’s who used to own it), there was a cool spring where we all got drinks. The boys played in the water there with Kiley and Karen watching while Tom and I hiked further down the river to the actual Jone’s homestead.

Every piece of land and sign of civilization here has a story. When “skinny” Jones owned the place (pre-50s), they had two kids, a boy and a girl. The boy was drafted into the army and killed in a munitions plant incident. The daughter married a local guy, settled down and had a baby. They lived further up the river. One night, the party phone line received a general ring (which meant that everyone picked up the phone) to hear her screaming for help, then a couple gun shots, then all that was heard was a baby crying. No one knew what had happened, so there were a lot of dads, including Tom’s, who sat up that night in the living room with their guns, watching for strangers. Two of the locals went to see what had happened, and both were shot. One survived. The other had his 14 year old son with him who drove him into town, but he didn’t make it. His family was so heartbroken after that, they soon sold their land to Tom’s brother and left the area.

Evidently, a high school friend of the girl had had a crush on her but it had never been acknowledged. He went on a rampage and killed her, her husband, plus two others. A posse was soon formed (they did that here even in the 50s) and they found him in a building out in the hills. They fired a couple of warning shots heard, “You’ll have to come in and get me.” Not sure if that meant he wasn’t coming out without a fight or if he’d been shot and needed help, they chose to not risk it and filled the building with gun shots. Needless to say, he didn’t survive. That’s Black Hills justice.

Skinny Jones was so heartbroken after losing both children, he sold the ranch to Tom’s dad and left the area. Tom inherited the 920 acres along the river before his dad died. There’s nothing left of the house now but a little pad of cement, evidences of an old wagon, and some pieces of a hay rake. Even though Tom owns the land and grew up around it, he hadn’t been down there to see that part for about 20 years.

Beef

We had fresh prime rib roast last night, and by fresh I mean it probably had been wandering around the pasture not too long ago. Then we pulled out Ruby’s thick cream and made home-made ice cream. There’s nothing that compares…

Jason and I have been at our usual board game mania. So far, we’ve played three different expansion sets of Settler’s (the card version – which, in my opinion, is more fun than the huge board game). He’s up 2 games to my one right now, but we’ll try and change that today. ☺

Sabbatical Reflections

REST
I’ve been thinking and doing some light study on the cycles of rest and work that God designed. I am convinced that we, in the church, have become conformed to the world’s pattern rather than God’s. Whenever a suggestion is made to transform to God’s pattern, the world’s pattern is thrown at us as an example of what “normal” should be and it is understood that anything less is somehow wrong, lazy, unsuccessful, poor work ethic, etc.
There’s much that could be written on this, but, as I’m on Sabbatical, I’m not going to take the time to go into teaching mode and produce teaching on this, this is for another time.
Here’s what I have discovered: God has designed us to engage in hard work, but effective work only comes when we trust Him enough to engage in the pattern He designed for work and not conform to the world’s pattern. Much like tithing, it doesn’t make sense that giving at least 10% away would give us greater effectiveness in stewarding the other 90%, but it does.
Much the same, when we engage in God’s pattern for rest and work, our work becomes more effective rather than less.
Here are some principles I’ve written down for myself:
1. God’s design for rest does not mean that I don’t work hard the rest of the time.
2. There seems to be a three-fold pattern for rest:
a. A weekly rest – Sabbath
b. An annual (or several month) rest – Celebrations
c. A multi-year rest – Sabbatical
3. These rest times are different from vacation times
a. Vacations are for connecting with family
b. Rest periods are for ensuring health for the journey
4. These times contain three things:
a. Physical Rest – we don’t get enough sleep
b. Renewal of Soul and spirit
c. Reflection and listening to the Spirit

Wed – see Journal on the Jones’ place trip.

We’ve been spending a few hours every morning playing board games in the shop. We open the big door and let the breeze rush in.

We’ve also enjoyed a few night time thunderstorms. Not big enough to scare or do damage, but lots of flash and noise to give me my fix. ☺

July 7

In Town.

We spent Monday in town (for those who might not be aware of our location – “in town” is 45 miles away from the ranch. That means the closest grocery store, real gas station, etc. is there).
We invaded the Pizza Hut with us and with the Hurd family (11 of us all together) for lunch. Jason has been pastoring here in Gordon for several years now and so everywhere he goes he knows someone. Jason and Laura have done an incredible ministry in this town. Ministry in a town like this is so difficult. You deal with so many different cultures and change comes slow. Doing ministry at a larger level is just a foreign concept to most here, but Jason and Laura keep pressing forward, leading people to Jesus, and making a dent for eternity. I continue to be so impressed by their ministry. Plus, they’re also planting a church about 45 miles West of here. I can’t imagine pastoring two churches…
Kiley had an opportunity to spend most of the afternoon with her Grandma Margaret. Up until just a few years ago, Kiley had all four of her grandparents, but it seems like each year, one more has stepped from this life into eternity. I walked to the boys up to the assisted living facility for a while to visit. She gave them pop (for those California – pop is the REAL name for “soda” – such a sissy name for such a good drink), after which, they were bouncing off the walls, so I took them back to the Hurd house to bounce on the trampoline. Kiley and Karen helped her shop for a new chair for her room and then Kiley went over to Grandma’s house and found some sentimental treasures there to take home – we’ll be taking more home than what we packed. ☺
Jason and I finished the first of what will be several of our board games….round one goes to me. I probably won’t hold on to the lead for long.
We had supper in the Hurd backyard and headed back to the ranch.
One fun stop was at a semi-truck tool sale. I found a 5 piece batch of Ryobi cordless power tools for $50 off what I could get them anywhere else, plus a bunch of other stuff. I guess I’m just as guilty for brining more stuff home.

Church is church

Went to church in Eli this morning. I’m reminded again that effectiveness is not in the number of people who attend, but in the influence for the Kingdom.

Tom & Karen pastor this church when they're in town. They're doing a great job.

Here's a picture of the church...