KINDNESS AND FAITHFULNESS!!

 

Greetings in the Name of the Lord Jesus!  What a great Easter week we had recently.  I am still in awe of God’s goodness and the work of so many around here.  But especially the Work of God Himself!  We do serve a risen Savior—He’s in the world today.  We know it is true, don’t we?

 

The Bible encourages us to remember God’s kindness in the morning and His faithfulness in the evenings.  Let me encourage us to think on this for a few moments as you read this.  Jan and I had an interesting experience with the Lord a while ago, back in December of 2007.  Let me share what He shared with us, and you see what you think.

 

Jan and I had a very very busy Christmas season that year, as is the case with church ministries.  We then celebrated our own Christmas with our families, and had a few days off before heading back home to start the new year again.  We thought we could take a weekend off and just spend it with the two of us, relaxing and doing something different.  You know what I mean.  Well, God had other plans for us.

 

It turned out that Jan became very sick during this time.  By the time we arrived at our destination, she was getting worse and had to spend the whole time away in bed trying to recover.  It was a disappointment to both of us.  But we made the best of it, as she mostly slept and I mostly read and watched some TV.  One of the special things we wanted to do while away was to attend a church service on Sunday morning in this new location.  But of course when Sunday came she was still very ill and we decided to reluctantly stay put and not go out.  I was a little frustrated and disappointed and was wondering why God was working things this way.  I know that none of you ever do that.  Anyway. . .

 

So, somewhat begrudgingly, I turned on the TV to see if there would be a good church service to be seen.  My attitude was not bad, but just not good.  Right??  I was very pleased though to find Charles Stanley and thought this might turn out better than I thought.  So Jan slept and I watched.  And God spoke to me strongly.  In fact, what He showed me on that day became the foundation of some of the things He recently has made clear to me about new steps of faith for us now.

 

Here is the summary of it.  The sovereignty of God is perhaps the greatest doctrine about God in the Word.  He is in control and guiding our lives and the whole world.  Psalm 103:19 reads, “The Lord has made the heavens His throne; from there He rules over everything there is.”  That means He is in charge and we are not.  I need to remember that truth, don’t you?  Here then is a principle:  the more difficult the path before you, the clearer God will make His sense of direction.  Amen.  God has the power to get us where He wants us when and how and no matter what other people think!  Amen and Amen.

 

What then is our responsibility?   It is to obey God and leave all the consequences to Him!  Success spiritually is moment-by-moment obedience to God.  See Joshua 1:6-9.  God has His surprise visits in our lives.  We are to walk in the middle of the road and follow the yellow (or white) line.  His best will be ours!!  I should keep my eyes on God and not on the lions (Daniel and the lions den).  OK.  Hmmm.

 

That day God had come to me and met me where I was.  He knew what things were on my heart and what I needed most in my life right then.  He gave me the message.  When He did so, I knew it was from Him and I knew what the message was.  It clicked.  Ever since that day, I have not forgotten it, and have tried to remember always the kindness and the faithfulness of God.  I have continued to claim Proverbs 3:5,6:  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.”  What He showed and refreshed in me that day became the springboard to what He recently made clear to me about Africa and Grace Church.  One led to the other.  One is the ideal, one is the actual.  His faithfulness is outstanding!!  Wow.  And to think, it happened because Jan was sick and we did not go out to church.  We watched it on TV.  I would not recommend staying home to Christians usually.  Ha.  Even pastors.  But. . .

 

Thanks for hearing,

dave  

First, I'd like to point out I'm not even out of town - yet Pastor Dan is already endangering the lives of students. I'm still getting a complete accounting of all games played (or stunts attempted) at the Jr. High Fire from Amelia. I also have other spies keeping an eye on Pastor Dan. One such person sent this picture from their phone...taken at the Jr. High Retreat weekend recently.

Sure it looks like Pastor Dan is throwing a student over a cliff. Sure it looks dangerous. But, I'm sure they both are wearing some unseen restraint harness. I just hope they get Shia Lebouf to play me on the episode of 'Law and Order' based loosely on an incident at the GEC Fire ministry. (Obviously, if they got Shia Lebouf to play me it would be loosely based on reality.)

Cue Music: Ba, Bong
Text:  "Wylie, Texas"
NYC Police Officer:  "Are you Pastor Jeff Denton?"
Pastor Jeff:  "Yes, I am. How can I help you gentlemen?"
Lawyer:  "Do you know anything about the incident involving Pastor Dan?"
PJ:  "Sorry, I don't know anything. I'd already moved to Texas when the incident I know nothing about happened. However, I did try and warn him many times."
Police Officer:  "Pastor Jeff, it's people like you that make our job easier and keep people safe."

To read the rest of this episode you have to go to www.DentonsLive.com
This post continues on a blog dated October 24, 2008 on the new website.

By the way, that's what has happened to Jeff's blogs. Since concluding my ministry at Grace Church, Chuck has helped start a new website dedicated to our family blogs. I hope you'll continue to read about our family, our transition, and our adventures on the new site. But, I encourage you to keep coming back here for new blogs by Pastor Dan and Pastor Dave.

- Jeff
PS:  You should check out the rest of the story (including who plays Pastor Dan on TV) at www.DentonsLive.com  

In some respects, this has been a normal Wednesday. I took the kids to school this morning. Stopped and got the wife a doughnut on the way to swap vehicles with her. (She'd say that's not normal. But, I'd like to think I'm always that thoughtful and kind.) I handled a few office details, then took off for the midweek service at Sherman Westcourt. I had my typical lunch with Pastor Dan at DQ. Met with Dawn about a few items this afternoon. Assisted with Awana check-in tonight and met some new kids here for "Bring a friend night". Taught the parent study. All pretty usual.

But, there was a cloud hanging over the day. Everything I did was sort of a "last time." See, it's my official last day in the office. Slightly unusual because I have some extended leave time for the next few weeks, but nonetheless, my last day as a working employee at Grace Evangelical Church. (Sigh)

There were some indications of the significance of the day. I walked through the dining room doors of Sherman Westcourt to find the dining room full of residents, employees, balloons, cake, and presents. I was completely surprised by such an elaborate goodbye party. Sherman West opened about the time I arrived in Elgin. So, the 17 years I've been part of the midweek service is a significant component of the facilities' history. I was very honored, and humbled, by this wonderful display of affection.

Even Steve at Dairy Queen greeted me with farewell wishes today at lunch. I had to inform him that until the house sells, he will continue to see me patronize his fine establishment. Though I'll continue my weekly lunches with Pastor Dan until I leave town, there was even a feeling of finality over our hot dogs and ice cream today.

There have been other moments of closure. Diane told a sales call today that "Jeff doesn't work here anymore." (What? She couldn't have him call back tomorrow and say it?) I had Sergio log in to our CCLI license account and showed him where to switch it over to his name when I'm done. Which he proceeded to do right in front of me! Excuse me, I'm not finished yet. You couldn't wait a day or two, then log in and change it when I'm not standing right there?

I got several hugs tonight, before and after Awana/Bible study. Some people just wanted to say "Hi" and "Bye". I had some "Thank you's" from Bible study members. Otherwise, nothing far from the ordinary.

But, now it's quiet. Even Rick has left for the night. Many, many, many nights I've walked through the buildings and turned off lights, locked doors, engaged the alarm. However, the silence tonight seems different. I don't know if the building is actually quieter, or if it's just my thoughts that are uniquely still. I don't have a list of things to do tomorrow, or people to call, or an announcement to get in the bulletin. I'm simply done...and it's quiet.

Interestingly, I'll be in tomorrow. I start the laborious task of emptying my office. I need to start boxing up books (but not the books I need to use for sermon preparation for Wylie). I need to figure out what stuff should go to whom. (I think most of the staff have put new deadbolts on their office doors to keep me from unloading too much in their space.) I've got to handoff files, and paperwork, and keys in the days ahead. I'll still be around while we're waiting for the house to move, but it won't be the same after tonight.

When I walk out the door tonight, I won't be "Pastor Jeff Denton of Grace Evangelical Church." And I won't quite be "Pastor Jeff Denton of Waterbrook" until I arrive in Texas. So, tonight, I walk to my car as just "Jeff". Maybe that's why I'm writing this tonight - anything to put off my exit a few more minutes.

Pause...Sigh

Hmmmm, I just thought...Tomorrow, I won't be responsible for turning off lights. It won't be my job to set the alarm. I won't have to make sure the doors are all locked and latched on my way out. (I guess there is an "up side".)

Time to go.

- (Still) Pastor Jeff of Grace Evangelical Church

Goodnight Grace.  

We're on the road and tasting the Texas life as a family. It's really a short trip intended for a little house hunting, but the kids are along and we're focusing on helping them process the move. So far it's been fun, and yet full of the typical Denton adventures. But first...

Here's a little comparison. I just checked weather.com for the current weather back in Elgin. (Especially since we had frost on the car last night. Here's the current temp at home -

As the week was ending, JJ took a hard shot to the head at soccer practice. It completely destroyed his glasses (without which he's blind as his mother). The eye doctor couldn't do anything before we were scheduled to fly out, so the wife (being her typical, talented self) used an old pair of frames and swapped out the newer lenses. He's just fine. Except he wanted to know if the sporting goods store has a "protective cup for your face."

We made it to the airport today more than 2 hours early. Highly unheard of for the Denton family, but at least partially thanks to the kindness of George Manusos. We were able to do some seat switching and eat a casual lunch. Then things got interesting...

Just before they closed the doors of the plane, an older woman came on board and ended up sitting in the row with JJ and myself. I soon learned Mrs. R was on a bus trip with her sisters. She stayed behind at the hotel while they took a boat tour of the Chicago River. After they left, she called and got an airplane ticket to fly home. She got someone to take her to the airport, then an airline employee to get her to the plane. The more we talked, the more I realized she seemed very confused - even about her own details of life. She asked me several questions about her connecting flight out of Dallas, and I looked at her tickets to assure her it would all be OK. I finally promised her I'd make sure she got to her plane when we landed, which seemed to relax her.

We learned which gate she needed to be at. Then, we took her on the tram, to a different concourse and got her to the gate. I explained the situation to the ticket agent, who was very helpful. They'd make sure she got on the plane. We told her goodbye and she tried to give us money. On the way back to our original terminal to get our luggage, I explained the details of my conversation with this kind lady to the wife. For one thing, she didn't want to talk to her daughter who kept trying to call. Plus, her husband didn't know where she was. It was then I realized this lady's family probably didn't want her flying alone. She was so confused she never would have gotten to the right place on her own. It was clear God put her next to me to be the one to get her safely to her flight home. It was then I realized I should have asked for her cell phone to let her family know where she was and that she was still headed home. By then, we had passed out of the secured area and couldn't have gone back. I'll trust that I filled the exact role God had in mind for me. However, by the time we got back to the baggage claim at our terminal...

...the bags were already unloading. We found our first bag, but not the kid's suitcase. Eventually, all the bags were gone - still no Denton Bag #2. There was a bag very similar to ours, but it wasn't ours. I told the "baggage claim expert" helping us that I suspected the person who owned the remaining bag had probably picked up the wrong bag. After checking the computer and making a couple calls, he told us the bag hadn't made it to Dallas. It was coming on a later flight. So, no clothes for the kids. Which meant a shopping trip as soon as we got to the hotel, to make sure we have church clothes for the kids tomorrow. A couple hours later I got a call from the airline letting me know a passanger suspected he had grabbed the wrong back from the claim area and was going to bring it back. "Suspected" he didn't have the right bag. Was he not convinced it wasn't his bag when he opened it up and found 3 Bibles on top, swim goggles and kid size clothing. He's driving it back to the airport, and we're expecting it sometime overnight.

But that wasn't all...our rental car reservation was messed up. It required a call to Priceline.com. Unfortunately, William Shatner wasn't available. This is really too bad, since the guy who helped us basically said "that's tough" (It cost us a couple hundred extra dollars.) Confused old ladies, missing luggage, and no rental car - this was shaping up to be one great trip. I started to get concerned about what this meant our hotel was going to be like. Fortunately, it's just fine.

The kids have both already said they like it and would like to go ahead and move here now. But, they've only been to the airport, Target and Chick-Fil-A. Apparently, that's all it takes to make them happy.

Oh, and did I mention what the comparison current temperature is in Wylie right now?

I'll let you know how the rest of the trip goes.

By the way, our webmaster is creating a new, neutral website where I'll continue to blog after I leave Illinois. (What? You thought this was going to end.)

Speaking of ending...it's time to call it a night.

God's best to you,
Jeff 

At the end of the worship service on Sunday, September 21st, I informed the congregation of our plans to leave Grace Church in October. I shared more details at a congregation information meeting later that day. Since not everything could be asked and answered at those times, I've decided to share some of the details via a blog post. I've pulled several real questions people have asked or emailed since the announcement. This is similar to what appeared in the October newsletter released today.

Are you serious? You’re really leaving?

Jeff: Yes, I wouldn’t kid around about this. Why would you leave us?It’s not a personal response to my Grace Church family. Our decision to leave wasn’t to get away from Grace Church, or any of the people here. If you want to “blame” someone, you need to point the finger at God.

What makes you think God is telling you to leave Grace Church?

Again, it’s not so much a “leave Grace Church” moment, as a “GO where God says” response. Many years ago I felt (and probably hoped) God would have us serve at Grace Church until I retired (or died). One day I realized I was closed to God moving me anywhere else. After talking with Deana, I admitted we needed to at least remain open to the idea that God had the right to move us to another ministry if He desired. Prior to that realization, my automatic response to any church that contacted me about moving was “No thanks.” I didn’t consider whether it was God’s will, or even pray about it. I just wasn’t open. I began to believe the only way God would bless my ministry here (at GEC) was if I constantly remained open to His plan - including the potential of His removing me from Grace Church. So, for probably seven or eight years I’ve humbly replied to any inquiries with an open heart, praying for God’s leading. And He has clearly led. In every contact, there was always something that indicated the ministry wasn’t a complete match for me. This included offers that would seem like good moves “up the ladder” or for more money. (But, that was never our request, nor what kept me open to God’s will.) From my point of view, it was ongoing confirmation that God wanted me at Grace Church all this time.Our prayers became a little more firm with God recently. (Which is always dangerous.) “God, please don’t move us once the kids are into Jr. High and beyond.” We were asking God to move us in the next year or so, or allow us to stay at least another 6-8 years. It was a pleading desire more than a demand. The other component was how God changed my heart for ministry in this process. Something most people have seen.

Couldn’t you have just stayed at Grace Church and changed your job description?

Absolutely. In fact, that’s what the Elder Board has done for the past few years. (Actually, for the last 18 years!) One of the blessings of serving at Grace Church has been the opportunity to grow and expand my ministry in new areas. At any point the Elders could have said, “Hey buddy, look for another position somewhere else if you don’t want this job as it is.” That has never happened here. Up until the moment we accepted this new call, the Elders remained open to every potential scenario possible as it relates to my job. It’s not the norm in most churches, and one of the key reasons I’ve been here as long as I have. If it was God’s will for me to stay here, I feel the Elders, Pastor Dave, the staff, and the church family would have allowed me whatever job description changes I desired. (My next proposal was going to be “Pastor of Dairy Queen.” Which may explain why God decided it was time I go.)

How did you know God wanted you to go to the church in Texas?

There are too many details and confirmation steps to write them all, but from the first contact there was something divine about our communication. Essentially, I have no record of making contact with them, yet they received my resume. Then, after our visit to the church, Deana and I both walked out saying, “It felt like home, like Grace Church.” The people had been as welcoming, friendly, and immediately loving, as they had at Grace Church during our first visit here in 1990. We prayed during the entire visit that God would reveal any “red flags” that should stop us. Instead, every person, encounter, detail, and experience seemed just right for us.However, we did one additional step of confirmation that most pastors don’t do in this process - I asked our Elder Board for their blessing before I’d take the position in Texas. Two Grace Church elders spoke with the Texas elders a couple of times. They confirmed the church needs were a match for my gifts. They also felt it was a good church. With that affirmation, I asked the Elder Board to send me with their blessing to this new church. It wasn’t a joyful approval, but they sensed God’s calling and gave their blessing. I could list many personal reasons to not go, but we had a clear open door from God, prayed about it, had unity between Deana and myself, and sought wise counsel beyond ourselves (in this case, the Elder Board). We did exactly what I’d tell you to do when searching for God’s will in your life. We knew we were called to Texas.

But, you don’t seem very excited.

We are very excited. We believe God is leading us on a new adventure. If we don’t seem enthusiastic it’s because we’ve tried to be sensitive to the emotions of our friends and family. Too much excitement on our part may lead some to believe we’re eager to leave here.  In fact, we’re hoping some of you will begin to feel excited for us. If we don’t live in the joy of this next step with God, the details and anxiety of the move will quickly become overwhelming to us.

Then, tell us about this new place where you’re going. 

I’ll be the Lead Pastor of Waterbrook Bible Fellowship in Wylie, Texas. Wylie is a NE suburb of Dallas. It’s far enough outside Dallas to feel a little rural. Much like Grace Church when we arrived 18 years ago. The church is around 4 years old and planted in a growing area with many young families. They’re contemporary in style. They currently meet in a school for Sunday worship, and all over town for other gatherings during the week. But, they hope to be in a building within a couple years. Since they were planted they’ve had a “team staff” approach, so I’ll be their first Lead Pastor. There’s another teaching pastor on staff, a music pastor, a children’s director, and an administrator. Plus, many volunteers. It’s smaller than Grace Church, but I see tremendous potential in the staff, members, and fields ready for harvest around them. Plus, we're looking forward to having supper on our patio this winter when you have snow.

But, what if I was planning on you doing my wedding / funeral / etc.?

You have until mid-October. Better find a husband quick! Just kidding. I have two answers to this question:
1) You’re all still family to us. We’ll be open to coming back for special events.
2) I’m glad that my ministry has had such an impact in the lives of so many. However, the reality is that if you stay plugged in at Grace Church, there will be other pastors who you’ll love dearly (and a few you already do). It’s OK with me if you change your tune and want other pastors involved in your life.

When will you be gone?

Why? Are you planning a party for the day we leave? Is someone wanting my office space? I’ll “officially” turn in my keys after my final “Time-Starved Marriage” class on Wednesday, October 15th. Which is exactly 18 years, because I began at Grace Church on October 16, 1990. We’ll take a little time off, visit family, and so on, through the end of October. We’re expecting to be in Wylie to begin November 1st.  *This is our schedule of faith - anticipating our house will sell within this time frame. If it doesn’t, I’ll probably be working at McDonald’s until the house goes. Try not to make eye contact with me as you pull up to the drive-thru window.

What do you need us to do for you?

We’ve been blessed by so many who’ve already asked this question. The first thing is to PRAY for us. We really need our house to sell. We’re having to trust God for this to happen. Beyond that, we’re not really sure. We haven’t moved in a long time and are already at crazy speed. So, maybe more prayer.

Any thoughts about what will happen at Grace Church after you’re gone?

Some, little part of me hopes there’ll be wailing and gnashing of teeth for a week. But after that, things will be just fine. In fact, I anticipate things will get better. I’m really excited about the new Music Leadership Team. Dawn has some great ideas we were just getting to in the children’s ministry. We were just starting to enjoy having one of our own in the Fire ministry. I’m a little torn about taking our kids away at the exact moment they’re entering what I think is the best teen ministry in our area. The Building Committee is starting to take some steps toward the dreams I got to help develop during my time as part of that team. There’s still work to be done on our shepherding ministry/small groups, but I’m thrilled with the changes we’ve made in the last year or so. The connection of God’s people is continuing to strengthen. You’ll probably hear news soon of new city-wide connections for our ESL ministry that prove Grace Church is reaching out beyond the walls. We’ve just barely been able to tap into our use of the internet and other technology ministries. I believe there’s some new expansion in this area in the days ahead that will broaden the ministry of GEC globally. I believe the best days for Grace Church are just ahead.In fact, all these ministries will require involvement by new people to continue to expand and grow. We need new volunteers for our AV ministries. New teachers to lead expanding classes (kids and adults). People with new ideas like photographers to update bulletin boards and individuals with a desire to help connect people through the shepherding ministry. We need new musicians to participate with the new team.     

Stay creative and dream God’s dreams for Grace Church. If anyone says, “We can’t change that because it’s the way Pastor Jeff used to do it.” - tell them I’d want it changed. Keep growing, adapting, changing and reaching new people. That’s the spirit that excites me about the future of Grace Church.

Any final thoughts?

Yes. If I give you something out of my office - take it. There’s a lot of stuff in there that has to go. You can throw it away later. Just take it.Seriously, we’re open to answering any questions you may have. Feel free to call, email, or drop by if you want to ask me anything. We could not have asked for a better church family than the one we have here. We have been loved, cared for, and prayed for by the best people I know. I hope you know how much we love you all. The good news that we’ve tried to focus on through this process is that we remained open to God’s plan for our lives, and He let us stay at Grace Church for 18 years. For that we will be thankful through eternity.   

I'm really not into the Olympics this summer. Not that I'm against them, I just haven't had time to sit and watch more than a few minutes of the coverage. Plus, my family watches events that I don't care about. Who cares about rowing, water polo, badminton or speed walking? Give me ping pong (table tennis), archery, and fencing. However, I am up to speed enough to know Michael Phelps has set the new record in gold medals (8), and a total of 14 career medals.

And I watched just a little with the wife tonight. (Gymnastics...what else?) I saw the American Nastia Liukin get a tie score with He Kexin of China in the Uneven Bars competition. She got the silver medal (2nd place) because of some goofy detail about tie-breakers. By the way ladies...watching gymnastics is the equivalent of watching figure skating during the winter games. We do it just because we love you.

In my opinion, the REAL NEWS out of these Olympic games is swimmer Dara Torres of the USA. She won three silver medals in swimming events in the last week. "Big deal," I can hear you say under your breath. The cool thing about her three 2nd place finishes is that she's 41 YEARS OLD! And she's had a baby (2 years old now). Torres had already retired from swimming competitions. (Why didn't I select a career where I could have retired TWICE by the time I was 40?)  Her first appearance in the Olympic games was as a 17 year old during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. She retired once, before the 2000 Olympics; and came out of retirement to compete in the 2000 games. Then, she retired again. She had a child in 2006, then decided she wanted to compete in the 2008 games.  (I have a theory. Let's go around the country and offer women of toddlers the opportunity to train for the next Olympic games. It will require many hours away from the house and away from the screaming baby. I think we'd be able to recruit an entire team of mothers of toddlers.)

I'm really encouraged to find people over 40 proving their ability to run with the younger pack. Look out all you athletes in your 20's who've discounted us older guys. Don't look in your rearview mirror, because you just might see some 40 year old bald guy catching up. I think Dara Torres may inspire many of us to consider jumping back into athletic competition. If she can do it, so can my wife and mother of our two children. So can your grandmother. We might rise up and start swimming to the mailbox to get our AARP magazines. You may find us running to Golden Corral to get the earlybird supper special. Thank you Dara Torres for being a shining example of what we can all achieve if we'll just start getting back in shape today.

Then, I read a quote from her coach. General manager of the US swim team, Mark Schubert, said of Torres, "The only reason she could do this is she's never been out of shape a day in her life. She loves to train and be fit."  Did you just hear the air drain out of my pumped up running shoes?  It seems she's not much of a role model for the average, aging couch potato. She's a role model to those of you who have never let up on keeping your body in top physical shape. She could probably bench press 100 pounds - WHILE giving birth.

There goes my role model. Those of you who were getting excited can return to your crying babies now. I'm guessing no one representing the US Olympic team will be knocking at your door today.

I'm going to give up on my Olympic dreams. But, I'm still going to sign my wife up for figure skating in the winter Olympic games. At least it will give me a legitimate reason to watch the competition.

Reporting from Beijing,
- Jeff  

School started today! Yea! Here's the proof - the annual "First Day of School" picture...

Amelia was up bright an early, before I even left for my run this morning. She had set two clocks to wake her up. By the time I was back, she was ready, dressed in her school shirt, wearing her school colors ponytail holder, and making everyone's lunch. JJ rolled out of bed, got dressed, combed his hair, ate some cinnamon rolls, then sat down to read a comic book. I asked Amelia on the way to school if she was tired yet, and she said "Yes." I've notice this summer that when she gets up extra early, she's  been laying down for an hour nap between 9:00 and 10:00 am. I hope she makes it through the day. Both kids are in the Middle School building this year. However, they have a new rule: 5th graders have to enter through one door, and 6th-8th grade enters at another door. It was all a big deal to Amelia. JJ was just "Whatever." Mrs. Denton was also pleased to be back. I went along to unload her van load of stuff.

In honor of this momentous occasion, maybe you too could learn a little something today. How about the results from our last two webpolls? First, we'll look at the recent question...

I'm a little intrigued by these results. I guess I'm not surprised that one out of three people says the NIV (New International Version) is their favorite. That does seem to be the most common version around here. Although, I did expect the KJV or New King James to be a little higher due to the high number of Awana people who still use it as the primary memorization version. I thought the rest of the voting would be spread out pretty evenly. So, I'm surprised that another 1/3 of respondents go for the Living or New Living Translation. However, I do really like the NLT. The shock was that no one voted for Peterson's The Message. I know lots of people that enjoy this paraphrase of Scripture. Quite frankly, as long as you're ready Scripture, I'm comfortable with most versions and use several different versions when studying myself.

Now for a more "earth-shattering" kind of question...

The philosophical question that's at the root of this whole "french fry controversy" is this: If the fries fall out of the french fry bag/holder into the bottom of the sack, isn't that still within a container - therefore safe to eat?  Or is it simply an issue of the basic order of the universe? Any french fries that leave the sanctity of the french fry holder are now contaminated by the world, and therefore unedible. This may be nihilism at it's best, and reminds me of something a character said in one of Dostoevsky's novels:  "...without God, everything is permitted."  There must be some order to the universe, and God is a God of order. So, I must assume God intends fries to be within some kind of special "fry container." To dismiss this logic is simply to dismiss the reality and order of God. So, we must let the prodigal fries stay in the far off country that is the bottom of the fast food sack. Who are these strange people (3 out of 4 of you) who willing snack on those rotting fries at the bottom of the bag? And what do you do if you discover a french fry under your seat while cleaning the car? (On second thought, don't answer that question. I'm pretty sure I don't want to know the answer.)

With that said, I have been known to eat a fry or two found at the bottom of the fast food sack.

Well, I hope you've learned something today. You didn't even have to go to school to learn it. And now I've wasted my day and it's time to go pick everyone up from school.

The Unexamined Life and All...
- Jeff  

Will Michael Phelps make it to 8 gold medals or won't he? Can the USA Women's Softball Team keep winning? Could badminton look any more boring? These are the questions that have struck me during this week of constant olympic coverage. And I'm serious about this badminton thing? Just this summer I've been having fond memories of badminton games played years ago. I've even mentioned the idea of getting a set for the yard while roaming the sporting goods aisles at a local store. (Which the wife either conveniently doesn't hear or completely ignores.) Then, I watched it the other night on TV. I enjoyed watching the ping-pong matches the other night, so when I heard badminton I was a little excited. Then, I watched it. Preschoolers with a game of lawn darts is more entertaining. (Actually, a lot more entertaining!) Badminton now ranks below curling (in the winter games) as the most boring sport to watch. (With apologies to my Canadian friends, eh.) HOWEVER, I've been watching something much more exciting this week...HIGH POWER SOCCER!

What a week of soccer camp we've had. Kids (ages 5-10) have hit the field each night. They've been working on drills, skills, and snacks. (Hey, Karen Krup is involved. You get only the best snacks!) Here's some action shots...



The young athletes worked on skills the first hour-and-a-half (with a drink and snack break). Then, they took a short rest, which included a little skit and visit from one of Miss Mary Lou's friends. Then, they were back out for a game during the final half hour.



By Friday night, the crowd was this big...

Who needs to watch the Olympics when you've got this group of elementary students juiced up on lemonade and chocolate chip cookies?

Thanks a lot to Warren and Karen Krup who organized and ran the week of camp. They had a tremendous group of volunteer workers who helped on the field and behind the scenes. Thanks to all!

Now that it's over, I guess I'll have to get back to the "world's best" athletes. Maybe I'll catch a little of the "skipping a rock across a lake" competition tonight.

If you want to see more pictures from this week of High Power Soccer Camp - CLICK HERE to go to the picture gallery page on this website.

The Unexamined Life and All...
- Jeff  

Sometimes, during vacations, spouses can get on each other's nerves. When that happens, you might feel like putting your loved one in a cage and locking them away for a while. That may explain this picture...
 
Actually, it looks more like I'm in a hamster exercise ball. But, I can't blame this on the wife. I climbed into it all by myself (and of my own accord). It was part of the fun of the City Museum in St. Louis. I highly recommend this museum. Well, not if you're a snooty quiet art museum kind of person. But, if you've got kids and don't mind exploring, this is the museum for you. The entire facility is created by artists from "recycled" materials they've found and turn into interactive exhibits. You climb and crawl and explore and get wounded kneecaps. What fun! The ball I'm in is suspended over the stairway, about three stories up. But, that's nothing when you go outside.

That's me in the little fence tunnel about five stories up (headed to the 6th floor), where you go down a four story slide. Yes, I made this climb - at least three times! Why did I keep returning? First, I climbed with one of the kids. This child convinced me to go down the slide first. It was against my better judgment, but she (or he) said she would be right behind me. At the bottom, I saw a tearful child who didn't want to go down the slide. (And there is no where else to go.) My wife asked why I went first. Because I was told she'd do it if she saw me go first. (And I fell for it.) It's a long and fast slide, and it probably looked intimidating seeing me whiz down. So, it was back into the fencing tube and climb to the top to retrieve this frightened child. Only, the sight of me climbing back up was apparently enough to help her get over her nerves, and by the time I reached the slide she was gone - down the slide to the bottom. Now I'm in line with several kids, but none of my own. (Which is a little strange.) I finally slide to the bottom and guess who thought it was great and wants to do it again? Back up we go...but, this time I didn't fall for the "you go first" line. And, so much fun we did it once more. There were also slinky-type tunnels to crawl through. Here's a picture of JJ and his two cousins climbing from the third to the fourth floor in one.

Deana did snap a family picture of us down in one of the caves.

We were all sweaty and hot. There wasn't any AC in this area of the building. Plus, when in the caves, there wasn't always room to even stand up straight, as my brother-in-law found out while following the boys.

It wasn't all fun and games. There were some beautiful family moments together. Once such occasion was when Grandma, Dana & my wife joined the girl cousins together in a doll making class. What a wonderful time and experience to share together. Plus...FREE souvineer!

Another of my favorite pictures was taken while we walked through the park where the Arch is. We were walking to supper at the Old Spaghetti Factory at Laclede's Landing. (Which has been a family favorite since I was a kid.) My wife tapped my arm and told me to take a picture. I'm so glad she did. Here's grandma and two of the granddaughters walking through the park.

Then, we celebrated several birthdays at the OSF. Mom's, my sister's, JJ's and mine. (4 weeks in a row) Since it was such a special event, we got to eat in the trolley.

The funniest moment of the night came when the ice cream arrived. Several of the kids made trips to the bathroom around this time, so my sister (I'm glad I don't do things like this...) took an empty ice cream bowl and put the butter (which looked exactly like a scoop of ice cream) into the empty bowl. She then passed the bowl to her 16 year old. We would all get a laugh when the teenager took a bite of the ice cream. However, before that niece could even touch the bowl, her sister reached over and grabbed it away. (She'd show her sister who was boss.) Promptly putting a BIG spoonful of the buttery delight into her mouth. It happened so fast no once could even get a camera up to record the look on her face as she spit the butter back out. What a classic moment. We howled with laughter.

Our final day in St. Louis, my sister and family had to leave, but we were able to stick around for a few more hours, and we visted the Zoo.

The St. Louis Zoo is similar to the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago - it's free! So we roamed around with Mom and Dad. My poor parents...they're getting older. Here they stopped to ask a zoo employee for directions. (Don't mention it to them.)

The St. Louis Zoo is known to have one of the best penguin exhibits in the U.S. They only allow a certain number of people in at a time. You stand right alongside the penguins. They swim so close you can touch them. The emperor penguins were splashing us as they swam by. Notice above JJ's head in the picture below. If JJ had reached up, he could have touched this penguin who was just standing right at the edge of the rock.

All in all, we had a great vacation. We laughed and made some lifelong memories. We drove over 1,100 miles. We ate, and ate, and ate, and ate. We got to spend time with family. And now, I need a rest from my vacation.

I'm glad to be back. Only one problem...we picked up this pet at the zoo and can't get him to go home. Anyone want a big gorilla?

Finally back home....and just in time because school starts Monday!

The Unexamined Life and All...
- Jeff  

What happens when you take eleven extended family members, shove them into two vehicles, combine temperatures some days over 90-degrees, and take off on a road trip? Hilarity ensues. Especially when it's my family. We're just back from a week with my entire family. Don't we look rested?

Seriously, that picture was part of our vacation. One of my mom's wishes was for our entire family to get a new picture taken together. Since we were going to the trouble of finding coordinating outfits (probably the thing that took the most efforts and caused the most stress in connection with this entire trip), we decided to have new pictures of our [little] Denton family taken. Everyone cooperated, even the siblings.

Now, do you want to see what the entire brood looks like? Are you sure? There's no turning back once you see this picture. I take no responsiblity for nightmares. OK, here's our family vacation portrait...

Can you tell everyone is wearing argyle print shirts? I'm not kidding about the stress of getting families into something semi-matching from Moweaqua to South Carolina to Chicago. The Foster family (my sister) is wearing argyle print that is vertical. My family is wearing horizontal print. Mom and Dad are wearing polo shirts. (What do you mean you can't see all the matching shirts! Don't tell me that!)

This was the most subdued and still we were the entire week. From here on it was chaos. Since we'd not all been together in a couple years, we did some extended family reunions (both sides). We also spent a day in Springfield visiting the Abraham Lincoln Presidental Museum for the benefit of the South Carolina family members. We also visited all the state war memorials in Springfield, along with Lincoln's Tomb.

After the family picture, we did allow Amelia an end of summer fun hair color.

My wife became the fun aunt, because she ended up doing pink highlights for all the girl cousins. After they were done, I used the extra dye to color the hair on my legs pink. (Just kidding!)

We then went to St. Louis. The cousins had a blast traveling mixed up in different vehicles. There really were no cousin altercations to speak of. Everyone got along fine. My 16-year-old niece even got to get away from the younger cousins from time to time. Although, I think she regretted riding in the "adult van" with us after grandpa and I drove to Decatur singing along with a Barry Manilow CD. Every teenager should have to put up with things like that on vacation.

The St. Louis portion of our trip included everything I think should be part of a vacation...homework and calistenics.


My brother-in-law led the kids in some exercise in a hotel hallway one morning. You'll notice JJ in the green shirt on the right - collapsed! I think he did 1 pushup.

One of the cool things was our hotel. Well, actually, the hotel was a big disappointment. Apparently, working light fixtures, coffee machines, hair dryers, and room keys are extra amenities. (Don't even get me started...) The upside, was we had a great view (from our 23rd floor room) into the new Cardinal baseball stadium. Is it still Busch Stadium? One night, the game went 12 innings and didn't finish until 11:40 pm. When a player hit a homerun, the fireworks were right outside our window. I love this picture of the kids watching a game one night.

We also did the Arch in St. Louis. I love the Arch ("The Gateway to the Western Expansion).  The Arch is the tallest monument in the U.S. Yes, taller than the Washington Monument and taller than the Statue of Liberty.

You've got to be brave enough to take the tram to the top.

Five people fit in one of these things - knee to knee. By the way, the boys look way too much alike in their matching clothing. Two lanky boys in matching outfits and glasses. Anyway, stick five people in this "egg" and close the doors. Four minutes later you're at the top of the arch. Once up there, you can look 630 feet down on the city of St. Louis.

But, wait...there's more vacation stories and photos. Check back soon for part two of this post and see -->  us in caves AND me hanging several stories in the air, hanging by a wire.

To be continued...
- Jeff