Country Shower

Okay, there are things I had forgotten about where I grew up that I do miss.

One of them is that while I'm officially too old to be invited to many baby
and wedding showers in California, I was amongst the mid to young crowd at
the wedding shower for Erick and Robin. I easily remember when Erick's older
sisters, Elisa and Rachel were born. So the fact that I attended "little"
Erick's wedding shower made me feel young and old at the same time :).

The differences in showers out here doesn't stop with them inviting friends
of all ages (which is something I really do like, by the way). That was just
the start. People out here work really hard, but when it's time to play,
they do that well too. The shower was a couple's shower, which I thought was
fun and Michael was dubious about. For the games, just let me say I think it
was the first time I've played shower games involving a wheelbarrow and a
four wheel drive golf cart. I'll leave it at that...

Michael has already waxed eloquent about the outhouse and road leading to
the lake, so I'll spare you a second diatribe. Now if we can get all the
sand out of the boys' hair, we'll be doing good...

Climbing in the Canyons

Today we had talked about heading into town to see Grandma, however, Ian and
slept in until 9:30, loosing a good portion of the day by the time we would
have gotten dressed and drove the hour into town. Besides, the guys had
already started smoking a brisket. The chicken we smoked last week was so
amazing, there was no way I wanted to sabotage an even better smoked meat.
The beauty of country life is that on lazy days, you don't even have to do
much more than brush your teeth and hair.

We had a can of pop (soda, for you Californians) with my Uncle Rich, which
was a treat. His mannerisms are more like my Grandmother's every time I see
him. It's bitter sweet as the memories of special times I shared with my
Grandma Geneve come flooding back.

In the afternoon, Michael, my dad and I took the boys exploring through the
sand canyons out east of the house. Brendon drove and had to give a running
dramatic commentary about the difficulty of driving a truck with no power
steering the entire trip (we took the 1957 International truck my parents
bought three months before I was born).

Brendon and Ian set the itinerary for our hike. I'm glad we let them. The
beauty of sand cliffs is that when we ran into the 9 foot cliffs, we were
able to carve out foot and hand holds with the garden spade and trowel we
brought along. It was a nice bit of exercise and after climbing all the way
from the river valley to the top of the hills, we walked around and came to
the sand pit the boys love to play in from the top instead of the riverside,
like we normally do. They made a sand slide (similar to a snow slide) and
had a great time playing in the biggest sandbox you'll ever see. It was a
hoot to watch them.

Well I need to get to bed so I can have smoked brisket on homemade rolls
tomorrow. That sounds like a good breakfast, right?

Wedding Showers, Belt Buckles and a lake in a pasture?

I’m not nearly a good enough writer to express the uniqueness of our experience last night. We went to a wedding shower for a young man whom we have watched grow up over the last 13 years of our marriage (Kiley has known his family most of her life). He is a young man who loves Jesus and so does his future bride.

First, it was a couples’ wedding shower, which I’m not all the fond of, to be honest. I believe that “shwoers” were invented for women and the planning therein is reflected by their taste in “activities.” Secondly, I am a natural introvert, and, although I really do enjoy the extended family and friends here, I’m not exactly jumping up and down to sit and visit with people I don’t know well for an extended period of time. So, needless to say, I wasn’t all that thrilled with going to the “shower” but I decided to play nice and go, plus, someone said something about a lake, a jet-ski and a BBQ so my thought was, “OK, they’re at least TRYING to make this something for the men too.”

I’ve been getting to know Sand Hills culture for 14 years now. I should not have been surprised by what I experienced, but I was…

Life here can be so cool and so different from anywhere else…

Let me see if I can do it justice and paint a picture for you:

After the five miles of dirt road off of the highway, we arrived at the Moreland ranch house. I thought we had arrived, but no, that’s not where the party was to be held. There were a few cars parked across a field that pointed the way, so we turned off of the road and began bumping our way across field after field. Finally, we came up over a steep hill and spotted several cars parked together next to an outhouse (by outhouse, I mean a structure with four walls, no roof and a fence around it to keep the cows from rubbing against it and tipping it over). We knew we’d found the spot. We unloaded our chairs and food and headed over the hill. As we crested the hill, an incredible view came into sight. Hill after rolling hill were framed by a small, private lake. Just below us was a sandy beach bordered by sand hill grass and short reeds.

Much of the party had already arrived and were sitting in camp chairs around the picnic tables. I knew instantly that I looked the part of the Californian in my shorts, flops and shades. Every other guy there, except two who were swimming and my father-in-law, was in Wranglers, a button up shirt, white straw cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and a big silver belt buckle. I knew I wasn’t in California anymore.

Our boys quickly changed into their swimming trunks and headed for the lake. It wasn’t long and they were building sand castles, throwing sand at one another and basically having the time of their lives. I, on the other hand, decided to sit and observe.

A “mule,” which is basically a four-wheel drive heavy duty golf car soon arrived pulliing a jet-ski and a bunch of old fence posts. The Jet-ski went in the lake and the fence posts were used to start a roaring bonfire.

More guests trickled in. it’s haying season, so many of the families were bailing hay right up until it they had to leave to get to the party. Every guy was still wearing the same sand hills uniform…

The shower games soon began…a couples’ timed wheel-barrow race (with the lady sitting in a real wheelbarrow), three-legged race with a burlap sack that had just been emptied and more…

What is so intriguing and refreshing about our friends and family here is that, if you’re family, it doesn’t matter where you live (or how you dress for that matter), you’re part of them. There is no “avoiding the California kids,” instead, they seem to know the happenings of our lives and I always enjoy our conversation. Many of our family and friends here are extremely well-traveled (much more so than I am), which, unfortunately, I think would catch many off guard.

One thing that did catch me off balance was watching these tough-looking and weathered ranchers dive into the shower games like kids in a candy store. We laughed at each other and ourselves the whole time. I’ve rarely been anywhere else in the country where men were so ready to have fun without the fear, somehow, of giving up their “man card.” These guys are men to the core and yet were more than willing to do the silly stuff we did.

As the games ended and we began roasting the hot dogs and s’mores over the fence-post bonfire just over the lake at the edge of the horizon a full moon rose and lit the place up like only it can. I sat in my chair and just basked in the amazing creativity of a God who makes lakes, full moons, Californians and Cowboys and imagined the glory of heaven. It will be there that we’ll have tens of thousands of years of such experiences. Days of getting to know people and cultures, all who love our Savior, from all times, places, backgrounds, ethnicities and experiences. People who are real, who laugh, who love deeply, and who are as different as our Heavenly Father can make them. I look forward to that day more so after experiencing a perfect day such as this.

We rinsed the caked sand off of our tired boys in the lake, packed up our things and said good night. We followed the caravans of 4x4s through the fields back to the dirt road and across the hills in the shining moonlight until we reached the Cobb ranch with two very sleepy children. As we carried them up to bed, we could hear the coyotes off in the distance singing away in the night.

The Perfect Sandwich

Tom and I put a beef brisket in the smoker early this morning. For supper, we had smoked brisket on fresh home made buns smothered in home made BBQ sauce.

It’s the perfect Sandwich…

Board Game Update

We end up getting only two games played yesterday. We were supposed to play "Citadels" for our second game but switched it to Power Grid instead at the last minute. It's one of the top rated Euro-style board games out there right now.

It plays like Ticket to Ride meets the Commodities market. Lots of fun...and I won. :-)

Now, we're playing one final game before we head back to the Cobb Ranch (and no internet access, which is probably a good thing).

Another expansion pack of Settlers of Catan the card game.

Overdue Entry

Okay, so I realize I kind of suck at consistently adding to this blog. I guess my discipline only applies to certain things. I need to figure that out before we get back. I am realizing as I read the diaries my parents have from my Grandma Geneve and my Great Aunt Marvis (who got a diary for Christmas when she was 13 and wrote in it every day until about a week before she died of an infection that same year) how important having a record of who you are and what you do is for subsequent generations. It's been very fun (though sometimes bitter-sweet) to peruse the world of family members 30 to 80 years ago and yes, weird names run on both sides of the family.

I so enjoy watching the boys encounter enough rich experiences in this relatively "short" 7 weeks to fill several normal years. It seems they're soaking up every moment as much as they can too. Ian did ask me the other day why everything we see is led by one park ranger or another. I guess it's the great National Park tour...Yellowstone, Devil's Tower, Wind Cave, the Badlands... We're planning on doing our very best to get to the Mammoth Dig site in Hot Springs on our way back. I don't believe they have park rangers there; however I'm guessing they wouldn't be nearly as nonchalant about one of the boys puking on a display :). That's one of those situations that will become funnier as the years pass. Although, since I was able to enjoy Wind Cave without carrying a vomit covered 40 pound child, I think it's pretty darn funny right now.

It's also been wonderful for the boys (and us adults) to share many of these great experiences with their cousins and the grandparents they don't get to see as often. My parents met us in West Yellowstone and then yesterday we toured the Badlands with my parents, sister, brother-in-law and their three children. The boys have spent a total of four hiking trips with my dad in the sand canyons down at their place as well. You know they're having fun when Brendon groused a little about coming into town, even though that's where his cousin, Rylan, who is only a year younger lives. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with my dad after our tromp through the rougher areas around their place while he and I picked cheatgrass (google this and you find numerous articles about how invasive and nasty the stuff is) out of shoes and socks. He chatted for quite a while about the "Jones" place and the family who lived there. I get my chattiness from my mother and the opposites attract adage fits them just fine. My dad usually says what needs to be said and that's about it. Catching him in a chatty mood is always a fun treat, similar to free courtside tickets for a Kings game. 

It's been good to spend some time with my one remaining grandparent as well. My Grandma Margaret has had a lot of changes this year. Grandpa Ervin died shortly after Christmas (they were married 61 years), she had to go to assisted living shortly afterward as she can't drive (she and Grandpa had owned that house 60 years) and then a couple of months ago her beloved cat, Cappy, had to be put to sleep. In the past couple of weeks she has started an emotional recovery and we're seeing the Grandma we haven't seen in a couple of years resurfacing. She spent a good year or two in constant worry about when and how Grandpa would die and then there was the stress of what she should do and where she would live. She's just now starting to feel those fears and worries subside. She still has her weepy moments. Sunday would have been her and Grandpa's 62 anniversary and that was a hard day for her. However, she is suddenly starting to enjoy going out for ice cream and sitting and watching people (two of her favorite things) and the spunky, boisterous Grandma I've always known is rising to surface again. She got rid of the loveseat she loathed and bought a cushy recliner this week (she paid $60 for the loveseat 10 years ago and got $50 for it as a trade in on her new chair; they even came and got it from her room...hmmm, maybe it's in my genes?). We've also gone out for ice cream twice. Tomorrow Ian and are planning on joining her for bingo. It's Ian's new favorite game and Grandma really seems to enjoy watching him and talking to him (both the boys actually, but Ian interacted with her the most as Brendon was immersed in a Garfield book the bulk of our visit..go figure).  

Okay, I need to put Ian to bed and start heading Brendon in that direction as well. We're heading down to the ranch tomorrow (and the land of technology black out), so I probably won't blog for a while again.

3 Week Confession

Well, it's almost 1/2 way through our Sabbatical and I have to confess that I'm still trying to figure out this recharging thing.

Bill Hybels talks about three "tanks" that we should monitor: Physical, Emotional and Spiritual.

I've been trying to pay attention to my tanks and here's my confession...I've been running at Empty or below for at least a year in all three tanks, so God knew what He was doing (doesn't He always?) for this summer.

There is no doubt that my physical tank is refilling, actually, it's probably full. I didn't realize how sleep deprived I was and now recognize how most of us really are living sleep deprived most of the time. I've also done some Biblical study and am convicted that this is, let's call it what it is, sin.

My concern is that my emotional and spiritual tanks are still low. I'm asking lots of questions, trying to identify the leaks, and attempting to plug them.

My other confession is that I'm experiencing some guilt for taking an extended time off like this...even though I'm even more convinced of God's timing and the Biblicality of a Sabbatical. My guilt stems from the fact that, as I look around, I see so many of my friends and colleagues who are living at less than God's best and should have a time of rest just like this. It's a little like eating in a nice restaurant while a hungry person walks by the window...

First Game is over

The first game is officially done. I came within a dice roll of winning, but got wiped out. Jason finally put us all out of our misery,

We took a break and went down to the coffee shop.

Now, for a game of Citadels with just Jason and me.

First Game

For our first game, we're playing "Return of the Heroes" with Rylan and Brendon. It's a fun little game that changes every time you play it...Rylan won the last time.

This is Brendon's first adventure into the board game world beyond Ticket to Ride, which he's VERY good at. He's pretty pumped.

Let the games begin

My bro-in-law Jason and I have declared today to be board game day. We're going to see how many European-style board games we can play before we collapse after midnight tonight...

I'll try and remember to give you the list of games we play and the tally at the end...

Call me cowboy

Yep, I went and dun did it...shopped around a I found me one of them thar real western boots. Not the flashy city slicker kind mind you, but for real dress boots. Had Kiley's dad help me pick them out so I'd get a good pair picked out by someone who know what he's talkin' about.

Here they are...

A cool, er...hot, day

We had a fantastic day trip today. Our family, Kiley's sister's family and her folks all met up early this morning for a day trip to the Badlands and the famous Wall Drug.

It was hot today and the Badlands make it feel hotter, but it was a great day. We took a walk with a park ranger who showed us all kinds of fossils (they constantly unearth new fossils here, one dig alone had over 20,000 animal fossils). His evolutionary history of the Earth got a little annoying with "We all know that this happened 30 million years ago...blah blah blah." We bit our tongues and played nice even though we wanted to ask questions that would poke all kinds of holes in the millions of years old Earth Theory that everyone assumes is fact these days (BTW - if you aren't familiar with this, a great place to start would be to see the Ben Stein movie Expelled).

Once through the first loop of the Badlands, we stopped at the famous tourist trap, Wall Drug. We had a great time, ate Ice Cream (notice a theme on our trip yet?), bought some souvenirs, played in the water park, had a T-rex roar at us and then headed back for the second loop of the badlands and an incredible, but hot, hike. We took what should be some great pics that I'll post on my Facebook site later hopefully.

Now, some supper, a shower, and another board game...Jason and I played Carcasonne: The Castle last night. He won. :-(

They Pastor TWO churches?

Today, we have the opportunity to attend the two churches that Kiley's sister and brother-in-law lead. Yes, you read that correctly, TWO churches.

They currently pastor the Gospel Chapel in Gordon, NE. It has a long history and they are doing an amazing job of, in a sense, restarting the church and reaching out to a very difficult and complex small community. The Gospel Chapel's services are on Sunday morning.

They also planted a church in Chadron, NE, about 45 miles to the West. It's been fun to watch as they have seen true Book of Acts-like repentance transformations. I always look forward to hearing from them as to what God has been up to there. The community is another interesting one. It's made up of 3-4 distinct groups of people who are miles apart from each other in culture. I pray for them on a regular basis as they answer the call to reach this town. Discovery Church meets on Sunday nights.

I've spoken in both of these churches in the past and enjoy the people immensely. Laura and Jason are gifted at BOTH Evangelism and Discipleship and it shows in their people.

The most exciting recent event has been the Wesleyan District's commitment to step in and help them with resources and support. This should allow Jason to work some of his other part time jobs less, plus, and here's the exciting news, it will allow them to hire on their first staff member! They've hired a couple from right here in the community who have been helping them make a huge impact in student ministries, and now, they should be moving to a whole new level with them fully on the team. I'm thrilled for them!

I have to say that I am constantly impressed by Jason and Laura and their effective ministry. Their commitment to their calling to these people is one that is so often ignored by ministers today. I believe that they are in the right place at the right time and look forward to seeing how God uses them in the coming days...

We'll be attending the Gospel Chapel for Sunday School and church this morning and then we get to join them for a potluck (there's NOTHING like the food you get at a good rural potluck - I miss some of them from my early days in ministry in Syracuse -- of course, that's where I put on the weight I've been trying to get off for 12 years!). Kiley will run up to spend some time with her Grandma this afternoon (today would have been her 62nd Wedding Anniversary had Grandpa Ervin not passed away this last winter).

Then, at 3 or so, we'll drive an hour to Chadron for Discovery Church. While in Chadron, we'll do some grocery shopping. Remember...getting to the grocery store takes planning out here as there's not many that are close. :-)

Tomorrow, we get up early and take a trek through the Badlands of South Dakota the famous Wall Drug.

I think I'll buy myself some authentic Cowboy boots...not the showy kind, but the real ones. I think I'd look good preachin' in those...