First of all our Upper Midwestern, Lake Michigan weather has sucked. It just turned warm a couple of weeks ago and it is warmer in Minnesota than it is here.

Then, there were a couple much anticipated events, the launch of Communitas Collective and our first ever big family vacation to Tybee Island Georgia. These were dreams that I finally realized and I enjoyed them, but they didn’t fix everything (or anything) that was churning around within me.

Just what is churning within me? Well, I need a job and I have decided after losing the last job that it is time to figure out what I am going to be doing the rest of my life and take whatever steps necessary to achieve those goals. I am doing that, but it is a slow process and without any real promises. Then there is the issue of a possible move in the not too distant future to look after ailing family members in Missouri. These things are all like puzzle pieces that need to be put together, but I don’t have the box with the picture. So, I keep plugging away, finding it hard to maintain a consistent motivation, let alone encouragement.

But I always get back up.

I love the blues and all, but I am getting tired of this same old song.

Here are a few pics from some favorite places close to home.

Kenosha, Wisconsin has an incredible water front along Lake Michigan. I ride my bike there a lot and we take walks and dine along the lakefront. These are some cell phone pictures of the Pennoyer Park band shell where the Kenosha Pops plays during the Summer.

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We had an awesome tine last Saturday at the Strawberry Festival in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, a cool little historic town north of Milwaukee. I indulged in an ear of roasted corn, a chocolate coverstrawberry, and some strawberry wine.

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North Point Marina is the largest inland marina in the United States and it is right here in our sleepy little bedroom town of Winthrop Harbor, IL. Here are some cloudy day cell phone pics.

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Last night, thanks to good friends and season ticket holders, Christy and Cory. I visited only my second ever MLB park and witnessed the Brewers trounce the Mets. Miller is an awesome park. Here are a few cell phone pics before the battery died.

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Vacation was a good combination of family, beach, and a great house. We were the third house from the beach on Tybee Island with a beach access right on our street. Our home was spacious and we utilized our three level porch and hot tub. It was even interesting to see all of the preparation for the filming of the Miley Cyrus movie on the island. Some of the most enjoyable things for me were:

The amazing beach, of course

A dolphin excursion boat ride

Sitting on the porch and in the hot tub

Watching Grand Torino and playing cards.

Visiting the King Center in Atlanta

Touring the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville

Eating at the Crab Shack

More photos here

The entire family, including our adult children and grandson are all going on vacation together.  We hardly ever take real vacations, so this is a big deal.  We have rented a beach house on Tybee Island (Savannah, Georgia’s beach).  Yesterday I found out that Miley Cyrus is going to begin filming a movie there next week!

All I have to say is, She better not get in the way of our enjoying our vacation!  (As you can imagine I am not a big fan of Hannah Montana.)

I may not be blogging much for awhile, but will be back in ten days.

Adieu

Wow, I have been so darn busy getting Communitas Collective going, I have hardly had time for anything else, including, writing here, with the exception of letting you know what’s going on over at Communitas.

CC is off to a really good start, with a lot of people joining out networks on the site, Facebook, and Twitter. Thank you for checking us out.

This is a huge project because it has so many pieces and several people are involved in developing, leading, and writing, but it already is feeling like it has been worth all of the work.

Keep checking back because there will be at least three new posts on each of the three blogs every week.

Here what has been posted so far:

Sanctuary

• A Bridge to…  Somewhere by Erin Word
• Bunny Trouble by Cindy Bryan

Verve

• Verve?  What The Heck Is Verve? by Gary Means
• Dreams Are Much Prettier When They Are just Dreams by Kathy Escobar

Survivor

• The Outsider by Glenn Hager
• Rock Star by Cory Sanders

Click here!

Finally, the new launch date is at hand and tomorrow the new ministry that seeks to encourage people who are finding new ways to be the church is going live.

With all of the networks out there, I have re-thought the whole concept of what we are doing and that reinforced the uniquenesses of this project.

We are not selling anything… not even a perspective on how to be the church. Instead, we are trying to help people discover what God wants them to do and encourage and facilitate that process.

We are helping people through transitions. When you find yourself at odds with something you used to love and be deeply emerged in, it is disconcerting. The transition away from the institutional church is unsettling and the future is totally vague. So, we are trying to walk with people through that process.

We are developing a community. I call people like us who used to be a part of the institutional church and who are trying to figure out what is next, church refugees. Many of us have been rather isolated. So, I hope that we can become a gathering place where people can find resources and one another.

I pray that we can be a part of what God is doing in the world today and be helpful to a lot of people.

Patty and her Aunt Twila (taken yesterday)

What do I say to a woman who has given me her heart and devoted her life to our life together?

I love you!

Happy 35^th Anniversary!

Yesterday, the anniversary of D-Day found Patty and me in Missouri at the graveside of her favorite uncle listening to the honor guard salute, the haunting sounds of Taps, and watching the ceremonial folding and presentation of the flag. It was impressive, moving, and sobering. Her uncle was there at D-Day along with two of his brothers. While I am not a nationalist and have been critical of many of our nation’s foreign policy and military decisions, I know all good things have their cost, including freedom. Incidentally, one thousand World War II vets die every day.

I am more familiar with death than most for a couple of reasons. I am old enough to know a lot of people who have died and I have been a pastor for most of my live. I have witnessed the deathbed confession and last fleeting breathes of those at the door of death.

There is always a moment in funerals when the reality of the thing hits me, even when I was there in the “professional” role. I always get mad that death is a reality, that people grieve their hearts out, and that loved ones are no longer available to us for companionship on this journey of life. I would get mad at the evil one for being such an instigator and I would feel like he won a battle in some way (but not the war).

Uncle Olce was Patty’s favorite (and mine too) for several reasons. First, because he looked and had scores of mannerisms that remind us both of her dad who died in 1984. Second, because he was a warm and wonderful man, also, like her dad. He was a simple working man who worked on cars, small engines, who also supervised and taught in that field. He continued to work out in his personal shop until very recently, even though, he was ninety-four.

The best thing about him and the old house in which he lived is the kitchen table. You could drop in anytime and he seemed to be waiting for you. You would go to the kitchen table, be offered food and beverage, and instantly have his undivided attention and interest. His kids have that same kind, loving way about them.

I commented to Patty that he is a man who attended a church that was a part of a denomination outside of our former Baptist, evangelical subculture that, back in the day, we would have characterized as liberal. Yet, he reflected Christ like we only wished we did.

He truly will be missed.

The ministry site that we have been working on will definitely being going live Monday. Like, Lee Majors in the old Television show, The Six Million Dollar Man, it has been rebuilt and is better than it was before. It is better in many ways… hosting, backup, security, content, and graphics.

I have worked with the best in the process, including web developer, John Smulo and graphic artist, Gary Means. The three of us have put in a lot of long days, finishing in the wee morning hours several days.

I feel like the site and the resultant community and relationships that develop will make our involvement very rewarding.

So, we will open the curtain Monday and see what you think.

Thanks to the two aforementioned guys, the site didn’t cost anywhere close to six million. I wonder how many hours we have put in. Maybe that’s where the six million comes in.