Computer

After I got home, I went downstairs to turn on my computer and . . . nothing! I had been having problems for the last month with the darn thing and had it in the shop to remove some viruses, but now it seems to be doa! I don't need this right now!

Canada pt 2

Thursday
Got up and flew to Fletcher. Beautiful day to fly. Watched a number of float planes take off and land, got some pretty good pictures. Caught a total of 107 fish, I caught only 30 and was clearly low man on totem pole. Flight back was equally beautiful. Got a picture of Culloden lake from the air, we will see if I can identify it when I can rename pictures.  Once again I find something about the iPad that I cannot stand. 

Not going out fishing this afternoon which is fine with me.  Going to work on sermon for the 28th and the next sermon series. 

Completed a rough draft of the sermon.  Probably going to wait and finish it when I get home and after I hear what Nathan has to say this Sunday.  

Friday
Planned to go to South Scott Lake this morning.  Storms all night, lots of lightning and a little rain, but I never heard thunder.  The sky was full of lightning!

Windy in the morning, but we decided to head to South Scott.  We got 3/4 of the way there when we remembered that we forgot the gas for the boat engine, so we had to turn around and get it.  Had to add gas to the plane as well.  Headed back to South Scott and got tied up to the shore.  Jimmy and I got the boat that is stashed at the lake into the water and emptied the plane of all our gear.  Unfortunately we were unable to start the boat motor, so after about 1/2 hour we headed back to Lac Lu.

Jim and I went out fishing for fish to bring home.  I caught 6 (4 keepers) and Jim caught 5 (2 keepers).  We fished until about 1:30 and headed in for lunch.

This afternoon we will need to take the plane to Redit where it is stored for the winter.  Before we could do that, Jimmy and I flew to Kenora to fill the plane up with fuel.  It is really windy and he had to fight the wind in turning the plane.  We had a hard time getting back to the dock when we returned to Lac Lu.  Jim and I will drive to Redit while Jimmy flies the plane, we will meet him where the plane is being left for the winter.

Saturday
Left Lac Lu at 6:45 am to begin the journey home. According to the weather reports we might be in for a bumpy ride home. Should be home around noonish.  

Flight was good until we got about 15 minutes from home. Jimmy is a great pilot and did a great job getting us around a very large and potentially dangerous storm. 

Got home about 1 pm. It is good to be home!

Canada 2011

Monday
Jim picked me up about 5:15 am and we headed out to Griffith Airport to meet Jimmy.

Lots of low clouds initially, got some great sunrise pictures and pictures of the full moon.  We flew up the lake but it was too cloudy to really get pictures of Chicago.

Very uneventful flight, actually made it about 30 minutes ahead of schedule.

After  stopping to get groceries, airplane gas and bait we headed out to the cottage.

Got to Lac Lu, and went fishing for our dinner.
Fishing was slow and I went a long time without catching anything, eventually Jim caught enough for dinner.  I caught:
2 walleye
3 northern pike
1 croppy
Took a couple of pictures, but nothing spectacular

Tuesday
In the morning we headed out to Fletcher, about 50 miles north of Lac Lu by airplane.  Very low ceiling, lots of clouds at about 2,000 feet.  We arrived and headed out with 4 or five dozen minnows with the goal of catching 100 walleye.

We were catching them like crazy, but after having been out for less than an hour we got soaked by a huge thunderstorm.  We headed for shelter to ride it out.
After it was over we got back to work.  Within 2 1/2 hours we were out of minnows, and had caught 105 walleyes.  What was weird is that we did not catch anything else.  I caught 35 Walleye.

We headed back to Lac Lu, while we were over Minaki, it started to rain, and there were very dark clouds in front of us.  We landed a few minutes later at Lac Lu and it started to really rain.  As we pulled up to the dock, it came down in a torrent.  It would have been a disaster if we had been just a little slower (we would have had to land on a different lake and wait out the storm).  The storm lasted about an hour.

Later that evening (at about 4:00 pm) Jim and I went out to fish on Lac Lu.  We should have stayed home!  I caught 1 northern, and didn't have many bites.

Had a delicious spaghetti dinner and Jimmy had even baked a birthday cake for me.  I would have liked to have been home, but it was a very touching gesture.

Wednesday
We were supposed to go to south scott, but way too windy
Went to Culloden instead.  We took big boat to Bennett's because it was so rough.

With such rough conditions, it was not surprising, but the fishing was real slow.  I managed to catch 4 walleye and 2 Northern.  We got enough to bring back for a fish dinner tomorrow night.

Went back via Kenora to get more bait and Jim decided to get the oil changed in the van
we ate lunch at crappy chinese place while oil was being changed.  Got bait and gas and headed back to the cottage.

When we got to bennett's we saw one of the workers bringing a boat up out of the water and realized that it was the big boat.  About 30 minutes earlier, the boat had swamped and flipped over from the heavy wave action.  We had to borrow a boat so that we could get out to the cottage.  They are going to try to dry it out and get the motor running again.  

It is still very windy at 4:30, so we are not going to go out and fish Lac Lu tonight.  Instead, once the waves settle down Jimmy and I are going to take the borrowed boat back and try to get online.

Catching Up

I have been very neglectful of my blog lately. I am about 5 books behind that I will try to post over the next week or so.

Last year, Lindsey and I completed the Indianapolis Half Marathon. I had set a goal of completing the 13.1 miles in 3hours 15 minutes (or 15 minute miles). Somehow, we managed to complete the course in a 14:24 mile pace. Since then, I got the crazy idea that I wanted to complete a full marathon. Nancy has done something like ten marathons (including 2 Boston Marathons), so I thought it would be cool to join that club.

On Saturday, September 3, Lindsey and I plan on completing the Marquette Marathon. Nancy was supposed to run the race, but she is laid up with an injury and probably will be relegated to cheering us on.

I thought the preparation for the half marathon was difficult, but this has been unreal. Getting ready is all consuming! Everyday I am out pounding the pavement trying to make sure that I am ready. My feet are covered in blisters! But I am feeling pretty good about my chances of competing the course in under 6 1/2 hours. The farthest I have gone is 18 miles, and shortly after doing that came down with sever bronchitis, but I am back on the pavement and hope to do 12-18 miles either tomorrow or Friday depending on which day looks better as far as the heat is concerned. I did 10 miles yesterday.

Regardless of whether I finish the race or not, the preparation has helped get me in the best shape that I have been in in 25 years. It feels good to be able to walk 5 miles and not even be tired. The biggest concern is my feet -- I hope that they can hold out.

Beyond Belief

I have read close to a dozen of New York Times best selling author John Maxwell's books, listened to numerous of his cd's, and have had the opportunity to hear him on two different occasions. His latest book, BEYOND TALENT: Become Someone Who Gets Extraordinary Results, is typical of his books that encourage you to grow beyond the limitations that we often create.

Maxwell suggests that talent is simply the starting point, not the final destination, and offers suggestions on how we can move beyond our talents. Maxwell's style is to use stories of people and let them illustrate how we can grow beyond our talents.

The major themes of the book include:
Belief lifts your talent.
Initiative activates your talent.
Focus directs your talent.
Preparation positions your talent.
Practice sharpens your talent.
Perseverance sustains your talent.
Character protects your talent. . . . and more!

Maxwell wants to remind us that it is our choices that make all the difference, not the talent that we start with.

Maxwell's books are never deep, but they do offer lots of interesting advice to help us grow. If you are looking for a how to manual, this is not the book for you. But if you are looking for inspiration to help you on your journey to become all that you can be, there will be many nuggets of wisdom that you can glean from this quick read.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Part-Time Vegan

Over the past seven or so years, two of my daughters have been vegetarians.  My youngest, a senior in High School is still living at home, so over the years my wife and I have been part time vegetarians.  When I saw Cherise Grifoni’s new book The Part-Time Vegan, I was intrigued.

What I appreciated about the book, was her no guilt approach to being a Vegan.  Too often, people who adopt that lifestyle want to convert everybody else that they become like worst evangelical Christians or Jehovah Witness.  She is not at all.  She lays out why she adopted this part-time lifestyle and why it could be beneficial to the rest of us – without the guilt.

I have only tried a couple of the recipes and the were very good.  I am sure I will continue to eat my way through the book.  My biggest complaint is that she can be, well to lack a better word, silly.  Otherwise, it is a pretty solid recipe book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Max on Life

Over the years I have read a number of books by pastor, teacher and author Max Lucado.  All of those books are what I would call devotional fiction.  He took a biblical event and then created a story around it trying to teach what he felt was the biblical lesson.  As I have said other times, I find his style simplistic and sweet --- I often think that we don’t live in the same world.  That notion really struck home as I read his latest book: Max on Life.  It is, as best I know, Max Lucado’s first attempt to really state his theology, in a semi-systematic way.

The genesis for the book is a collection of questions that Lucado has collected over his 25 plus years in ministry.  The questions came the way that questions usually do, sometimes solicited, other times spontaneous.  The questions came through letters, e-mails, even, he tells us, on a Dunkin Donut napkin.  In Max on Life, Lucado gives his answers to these often provocative questions.

The book covers questions about everything, from prayer to suffering in the world.  It also includes the seemingly mundane like parenting issues and financial questions.

While many reviewers love his answers, I find them trite and simplistic.  This book is meant for the choir --- if you are not a believer (or at least a non-believer who wants deep answers) you are not going to be satisfied with the answers that Lucado gives.

Overall, I cannot recommend this book, it isn’t bad, it just isn’t very good.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Final Summit --- Engaging, yet simplictic!

A few months ago, a friend gave me The Traveler's Gift to read.  I have not read it yet, but after reading, Andy Andrews: The Final Summit: A Quest to Find the One Principle That Will Save Humanity, I feel the need to go back and read it.

The story is engaging:  humanity is running out of time, due to centuries of greed, pride and hate.  We have wandered far from our God given purpose, and there seems to be only one solution that can set the world back on the right course.  That solution consists of only two words, that Ponder must figure out.

David Ponder, who was introduced in The Traveler’s Gift, is a special human who has been chosen to help save humanity.  Along the way, Ponder meets fellow Traveler’s (Churchill, Lincoln, Ann Frank, Benjamin Franklin, and others) who help him solve the riddle on what must be done to save humanity.

If only the answer to our problems were so simple.  Andrew’s theological understanding of God leaves much to be desired.  God seems to be a capricious S.O.B. who can’t deal with the failure of creation, so God needs to find a way to either get people on the right track or to start over. 

If you tend to get sucked into theological syllogisms, then you might want to skip the book.  But if you can see past a very small vision of God this is a fun and creative book to read.

When I read books I am always looking for sermon material, this one will provide material for a great sermon.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Finding Our Way Again --- Brian McLaren --- A Good Read

This is the first book in “The Ancient Practices” series that I have read.  This series is designed to open up classical spirituality in a modern way.

I have to admit, that for the most part I am a fan of Brian McLaren, I find his theology and understand of Christianity refreshing, as he challenges us to experience the living Jesus and not simply the theological Christ.

If you are a student of the Spiritual Practices, or have read Richard Foster’s Classic 1978 work: The Celebration of Discipline, you might be disappointed.  But for the average person, or someone who needs a kick start on finding their way again, they will find great tools and insights in this book.

What some people find difficult with McLaren’s work is the idea that God’s door is open to people who don’t fit into the current evangelically defined definition of what a Christian is.  This is not the place for that debate, but if you believe that God’s accessibility is ONLY through Jesus as defined by the evangelical church today, run, don’t walk from this book, because you will hate it.  For the rest of us, we will find great tools and questions to help us on our journey.

This book is a simple read, but the questions and the end of every chapter provide for the opportunity for some serious reflection.

I would recommend this book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Lies The Government Told You

As I read Judge Andrew P Napolitano's book Lies The Government Told You, I thought I was reading one of Steven's Berry's mystery books.  Judge Napolitano does a interesting job in examining what he calls 17 lies that have been either created or perpetuated by the US Government at some level.

Ron Paul in his forward tot he book sets the tone for the book.  He identifies Judge Napolitano as "a passionate defender of liberty who understands that the United States Constitution puts strict limits on federal power."  Ron Paul also argues that Judge Napolitano "does not pull punches or excuse any constitutional violations in order to support any group or political interest."    Unfortunately, that is not completely true, and a critical reading of this fascinating book will point that out.  I believe that bias comes through loud and clear in his introduction and is fleshed out through out the book.  My biggest issue, is that he seems to believe (at times) that the Constitution was written in a vacuum and is a stagnant document.  Much like many people perceive the Bible.  I am not sure that I would agree with that starting point.

While I say that, it is a very interesting and thought provoking book.  I found some of his arguments to be very persuasive, others, well, let's just say that I didn't agree with everything that he wrote.  If you come from the same philosophical bend as Judge Napolitano, then you will be filled with great joy at his presentation.  If you come from a different world view, then you might want to find somebody to talk with this book about.

That is what I liked about it -- it provokes conversation.  I would highly recommend that this book be used for a critical group study, especially one that welcomes multiple points of view.  But just for personal reading, I think I would give it a pass.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”