Please take a poll for my daughter's health class

If you would go to http://healthproject-inhalants.blogspot.com/ and read the info, then take the poll on the left sidebar, I'd appreciate it. It will take you less than a minute.

Friday

Morning - I started with a planning meeting for the New Life for Haiti Banquet. It is going to be unbelievable. Great food, great prizes, great music, and a great presentation of what we are doing in Marfranc, Haiti. If you'd like to come, let me know. We want you there!

Noon - On Fridays at Noon, I help out at my Kindergartener's centers. My center is always a craft, and the same 5 kids (including my son) come to the center. Yesterday we made a paper stocking and a clever Santa. It is so refreshing because even the kids I don't have each week love to see me and want to catch my eye to say "hi." It amazes me how the teacher has control over the whole class room even when everyone is scattered about.

Evening - My 12 year old daughter went to a dance. While it makes me a little nervous for her, she's great. She doesn't get all caught up in the drama and she just tries to have some fun. She's fantastic.

Preaching - Sometimes writing a sermon is easy. Sometimes it isn't. I really like to tell a story. That is how Jesus preached and it is easier to remember and there isn't a better way to get people to think. Two weeks ago, I preached about Zechariah, father of John the Baptist. Last week, I preached about Mary. They both had these great interactions with the angel Gabriel. This week is Joseph. I'm focusing on the early chapters of the Gospel of Luke and there is no angelic visit for Joseph in Luke. But there is in Matthew, though it doesn't have the same flavor as the visitations in Luke. And we know almost nothing about Joseph. We know he was a carpenter, the angel convinced him not to leave Mary, and then he disappears.

So I find myself this week wanting to focus on mud. Figure that?

Sick

This week, it's my daughter's turn to be sick. She's been in and out of school all week. It's a flu bug that just hangs around. I'm proud of her; she's been toughing it out and going to school anyway.

My son bought Katamari for the Playstation 2. You don't kill anybody, shoot anybody, or even beat anybody. You roll up stuff. Yet somehow his brother still seems to find a way to argue with him about it.

Sunday night, I speak at the community Thanksgiving Service. At first, it seemed like an honor. Then I kept hearing how pastor after pastor won't be able to make it. Now I think maybe I was the only possibility. Oh well, I'm preaching about the Kingdom of God.

A Day at Home

Yesterday, very early in the morning (around 12:30), our middle son started vomiting. He doesn't get sick very often but when he does, he's clockwork. By the end of the day, he had been sick five times. This morning he looks a lot better. Between restroom breaks, he slept.

So it was a slower day around the house. Today, Danelle had scheduled a day off. She has turned it instead into a sick day for our son.

I was still able to get a lot of work done at home.

Sleeping in the Van Tonight

I ran into the house to get something and left my 5 year old son in the van. When I came out, he was singing, "I'm sleeping in the van tonight. I'm sleeping in the van tonight. I'm sleeping in the van tonight. I'm sleeping in the van tonight." I said, "Interesting song." He said, "I learned it at school."

No Rewind

Yesterday my five year old and I were waiting in our van. He was playing with the tuner buttons trying to find some music he liked. When he found one, he asked, "How do I start this song over again?" I told him, "You can't. But you will."

Chicago Art Institute

Danelle and I left early Monday morning on an Amtrak train to Chicago. Our train did not look like this, but it was nice. We had breakfast on the train and then sat in the lounge car with seats facing the windows. There is something relaxing about riding on a train.

In Chicago, we took a taxi from Union Station to the Art Institute. We were a bit early so we walked around Millenium Park. For some good images of what the park looked like (and it is worth a peek), go to the Millenium Park Website.

At 10:30AM, we went to the Art Institute of Chicago. Danelle had went with our daughter on a field trip about a month ago and thought I would really enjoy it.

We walked up the Grand Stair Case and entered the first room. They have a lot of different art there, but I really wanted to see some paintings. I wanted to see the texture of the brush strokes, see the actual size of the painting, and ponder it a bit. I wasn't disappointed.

The first room had several paintings hanging on white wall. There was a rope a little above knee level but it was only a foot from the wall. You could (but obviously shouldn't) easily touch the painting. I went and looked at the first one. Interesting. I looked at the little sign. It was painted by Renoir. Renoir? He's famous isn't he?! I'm standing in front of a Renoir! And I can get as close as I want. There didn't appear to be any glass in front of the painting.


We saw Renoir, Manet, and Monet (I love Monet -- the colors, the style... it always moves me.) Danelle and I both really liked Pissaro. This painting, Woman Bathing Her Feet in a Brook, was stunning! This photo wouldn't make me look twice, but in person, it just popped. It was amazing to see a painting you recognized and then walk right up to it. Rembrandt, Rodin, Picasso, O'Keefe, Mattise, El Greco, van Gogh, Dali, Gauguin, and Cezanne.

Here is Danelle in front of a painting we recognized. It struck me how large it was. Here's a quiz -- what is the name of the painting? Who is the artist? What type of art is it a great example of?

There was an artist named Robert who had painted some spectacular scenes of Roman (I assume) architecture that had just the right touch of fantasty for me.

It was amazing to see painting that began to paint glass objects, such as wine glasses or pitchers. You had to remind yourself, they didn't have a color for glass. They used white and painted the edges and the glares. Amazing.
I knew this painting was at the Institute. It is a famous painting of a farmhouse in Iowa. Who painted this one? What is the title? What is the relationship between the man and the woman? Who posed for it?

There was a lot of art I didn't like. I'm not a fan of the European religious art where everything looks so odd. I'm not a fan of a painting of fruit, no matter how real it looks.

We left the art museum a little before we had to. We had seen everything we wanted to see. We were tired, and we didn't want to look at stuff "just because we were there." We came out of the museum and decided to walk in the direction the cab had brought us. After a couple of blocks, I thought I should be sure and asked a man in a suit directions. He was very kind and gave us good directions. I thought he told us to stop at the river.

We found ourselves right in front of the Sears Tower and saw the river but not the Station. I asked another man in a suit, who after being surprised by the interruption, kindly told me it was just across the river. And it was. We were amazed that we could walk from Union Station in downtown Chicago to the Art Institute and not be afraid. If we go again, we think we will probably just walk to the park and the Institute.

We took the train home, several times agreeing that we were glad we weren't driving. I want to go again and gaze at the same paintings. The difference of seeing them in person is distinct. I want to go to New York and Europe and see more paintings.

A New Ride

We bought a 2001 Toyota Sienna XLE mini-van. We love it. Thanks for the advice Sherri. It was really a big part of the determining factor as we drove another van on the highway and weighed the pros and cons.

BTW Today is my 40TH Birthday

It feels no different though my friend Jim called and told me it is, much worse, and that he would tell me more soon. Obviously I am blessed to have such good friends.

Turning Forty

Forty is just around the corner for me, and I'm actually getting excited. Many of my friends are in their forties and even turning fifty this year. It looks like a great time to be alive. At forty and even fifty, I will be at the peak of my abilities to affect the world. That may not correspond for everyone, but there is no doubt it is true for me.

I don't feel forty. Forty seems old to me. When I was in my twenties, people in their forties always seemed to go "mad" for a while. I'm sure I'm in that category. The body is starting to act a little more slowly, but I'm trying to exercise more, eat a bit better, and I think it is making some difference.

There is some desire to take fewer risks. I don't want to implode at this point in my life, but I think playing it safe will be a mistake. I'll continue to try and push ahead.