Animal Groups

I've always enjoyed the various names given to groups of animals.
Some favorites:
Chattering of chicks
Quiver of cobras
Murder of crows
Convocation of eagles
Mob of emus
Gaggle of geese
Bloat of hippopotami
Scold of jays
Cloud of locusts
Prickle of porcupines
Shiver of sharks
Committee of vultures

What Age Would You Choose for a Day/Week?

In my blogosphere wanderings, I saw someone's post where they discussed what age you would like to go back to if you could be that age again for just a day or as long as a week.

I think I would go back to 5 years old. It was a time when everything was basically happy with few, if any, responsibilities. No school. No chores. I could play outside with my friends. I didn't need to wear a helmet to ride my bike. I was in good shape with all the running around. I could play soldier using surplus WWII gear and guns weren't politically incorrect. We'd pretend to kill the 'Japs' or the Nazis.

My mom and dad hadn't divorced yet either. I had a sister two years younger who would follow me around and my older brother had not yet left to a boarding high school in St. Louis so we still played together. Both sets of my grandparents were alive and we visited often, receiving all the attention a young grandson gets in terms of encouragement and treats.

We had a great Irish setter and for a while I had a lizard for which I had built his own cage. My uncle George, a life-long bachelor, was my guide into the mysteries of wood working and tools (skills not shared by my father).

And if I was to go back to that age during summer, there would always be the vacations to either Lake Tahoe or the Rogue River or just going to the movies and New Joes in San Francisco.

What age would you choose and why?

Family Weekend

It seemed like a long weekend with Uncle George's funeral on Saturday and our Easter get-together on Sunday.

Saturday morning we were up relatively early to pick up the house, get the car washed, and to shower and dress for George's funeral. Wanda made it to our house promptly at 9 am and we were on our way to Holy Cross cemetery in Culver City at around 9:20. You can never be sure about the traffic through LA and there was a slight slow down near LAX, but we found our way there about a half hour before the 11 am service.

We were greeted by Kathy Oliver who had spent the last few weeks up in LA visiting her father daily and who seemed exhausted emotionally and welcomed our hugs and love. We all milled around greeting cousins and friends before the service. Eddie and Calla Chevalier were there with Tim and Ian, Mike Chevalier dressed in a somber black Hawaiian shirt and shorts continued his tradition of dressing to his own standards.

The priest gave an interesting homily about the meaning of life and the importance of how we fill it with love for others - a trait of George's that was profound in his willingness to take in and feed the less fortunate. George's caretaker was the second to speak. Philip is from the Philippines and he and his wife and son have lived with George and Jean for at least three years providing care. Philip spoke lovingly of how George taught him English, facilitated bringing him here from the Philippines, and often played ball (in the house) with his son. Eddie then got up and gave a great tribute to his father and how he found the greatest pleasure, not in travel or possessions, but in his family.

Just before the service started, Lisa, Cale and Amy appeared after having gone to the wrong chapel at first! It was Cale's birthday on Saturday, so they didn't join a good portion of those who attended as we were all invited to a lunch at Tony P's in Marina del Rey about 4 miles away. The Chevaliers hosted a lovely reception on the waterfront which allowed us time to catch up with a number of our extended family.

Leaving mid-afternoon, Carolyn, Wanda, and I stopped off in Newport Beach to show Wanda the new sailboat which required us to take off our non-marine shoes to board her. I think Wanda is looking forward to her first sail.

After a quiet Saturday night, Sunday dawned bright and clear and warm. Carolyn prepared a great brunch for Wanda, Lisa and Katie and us which included fresh fruit, mimosas, sausage and the creme brulee french toast we had enjoyed in Lake Arrowhead. Fabulous!! Then we took our croquet set down to the lake for a vicious game where both Lisa and I declared ourselves poison and tried to slam the heck out of everyone else, but Carolyn was able to create some strange sort of force field and we kept missing and she snuck by to win.

To facilitate our weird schedule and the ecumenical nature of our group, we had our Easter service at Saddleback at 4:30. This being the eleventh of twelve services, Pastor Rick Warren was sounding a little raspy, but the service alternated music between the discussion of five points from his Purpose Driven Life on "What on Earth am I here for?" And, of course, the first purpose is that our life is for God's pleasure and that we should glorify Him. At the services close, Pastor Rick challenged those who hadn't sought God's purpose to repentance and to follow Christ.

Then it was home to rest up for the start of another work week. Happy Easter!

Men Buy, Women Shop

Or at least that seems to be the case for most persons I know. Late, yesterday afternoon, I got home around 5 p.m. from a Land Summit meeting that had been held in Chino, and I announced to Carolyn that I needed to get a dark suit for the funeral on Saturday. My formal attire has either not kept up with current styles or my current 'physique' and I haven't bought a new suit in over a decade.

Carolyn agreed to come with me to the Men's Warehouse near the Laguna Hills mall. I told the salesman that I needed a dark suit for funerals and evening weddings, and I needed it tailored by Friday night. We looked at several that I rejected because I didn't want to look like a gangster or someone in a 'shiny' suit. Within about thirty minutes, we'd chosen a dark suit with a slightly lighter thin stripe, two shirts, two ties, socks, and had the suit measured for alterations.

Now, picture that same scene say with Carolyn looking for a dress for a wedding. My guess is several days of visiting numerous shops in several malls to find the right dress. I am so glad I'm a guy because I hate shopping (not counting Home Depot or Circuit City, of course).

We were out of the store a little past 6 and over to California Pizza Kitchen for chicken chipotle ravioli (pretty spicy!) and lettuce wraps before heading over to our Thursday night Bible study where we continued into the second chapter of 1 Peter.

A funeral and family gathering for Uncle George on Saturday and Resurrection Sunday with Wanda, Lisa and Katie. Happy Easter everyone!!

Travels

We have a lot more of the world to see. Some of these places were only visited by one of us, probably Carolyn on her trips with friends. Where should we go next?



create your own visited countries map

Miscellany

Pastor Mike gave his last sermon at Pacific Coast Church on Sunday and I'd have to say he was most gracious, talking about transitions and using 1 Corinthians to say while we often have our own plans, God has the ultimate control. His intentions were to stay on at PCC, but the current circumstances have altered those plans.

I don't know if I was just being hyper-observant, but the prayers led by Pastor Dan and Pastor Mark (Senior Associate Pastors and elders) during the service seemed to be rambling and unfocused whereas they are usually heartfelt. And when all the staff came on the stage at the end of the sermon to pray for Mike and his family, Pastor Mark was noticeably absent. All I can hope for is that God will use this change to broaden His work in our area and that those involved in the dispute will learn to trust Him more fully.

Later Sunday, we heard that George Chevalier had passed away after a bout with cancer. Carolyn's cousin, Eddie, called Monday to tell us of the funeral that will be held for his father on Saturday. Pray for George's 'kids', Eddie, Mike and Kathy, and all the grandkids. George was a kind and generous father and friend.

The Terri Schiavo case ruled the news yesterday as Congress passed a law specific to her case that would allow Federal court intervention to re-insert her feeding tube and they just ruled today that the courts had fully protected her rights and would not intercede. It has made me more focused on completing the creation of our living trust along with wills and directives on what to do if I were in the same situation.

Carolyn didn't feel that well yesterday and spent most of the day resting and completing her Community Bible Study, but she is feeling moderately better today and is at her leaders meeting as I write this. Pray for her health and that she might get over this persistent pain that she's had for over a month.

Maiden Voyage

Our Cal 2-27 was officially purchased earlier this week and Dennis and his son Steve had been down on Wednesday to check out the engine and electrical issues. All of it worked although the engine needs a little work to get it to run smoothly. So we planned a work day this Saturday to clean her up.

Dennis was at the Sea Scout base (its temporary berth) around 8 a.m. and Carolyn and I made it down around 9:15 after two attempts to leave. Dennis and I tackled the upper deck while Carolyn scrubbed down mildew and woodwork down below. After several hours we were definitely pleased with the result. Carolyn had the woodwork gleaming and any trace of mildew gone while Dennis and I had scrubbed the deck of all the grime it had accumulated. Gloria, a late riser, met up with Steve, their son, and came down in the late morning and Steve got right to work changing spark plugs and adjusting the electrical system. The engine is now running on two or three of four cylinders and he will be checking cylinder compression to determine why the fourth isn't firing.

Carolyn and Gloria made a run to Taco Bell to grab a late lunch for all of us and then we decided to try our new baby out! All the while, hoping we wouldn't be caught be the Harbor Patrol as we don't have the 2005 sticker on yet. Dennis let me skipper as he handled raising the mainsail and jib and tended the winches. Luckily we had a beam reach all the way down the Newport Channel past the ferry and even all the way back beyond the Balboa Bay Club. We had to tack about three times!

The day had started out a little rainy with drizzle but by the time we took the boat out the sun shone over the bay as clouds were seen both to the east and the west. Next time out I'll have to remember sun block as I came back with a sunburned face.

It's Friday

And it's raining again!! After more than a week of normal So. Cal. weather, the storm watchers (TV weatherpersons) are out again talking about how this current 'storm' will bring our rainfall up to either the second or wettest season in the 130+ years of L.A. recorded weather. And, of course, we're planning our first workday down on the boat which we actually purchased on Tuesday.

Dennis and Steve were down in the harbor earlier in the week and the engine and all the electrical systems work! Much to our delight. Perhaps the rain will pass through quickly and we'll get a chance to try out the sails around Newport Harbor.

I'm trying to be a bit more diligent in diet and exercise recently. I've been drinking water rather than Coke or Diet 7-Up for lunch and started taking a half hour walk at lunch at least three times a week. Of course, I don't walk in the rain except to get to my car. Hopefully, the work around the boat will burn off a few more calories.

Breakin' Up is Hard to Do

Received two letters from Pacific Coast Church yesterday, one from the elder board and one from Pastor Mike announcing that Mike will be leaving PCC after serving for 15 years. Evidently, the mediation wasn't successful! Then we met with our application study group last night for the last time under the auspices of PCC as our group leader is a close friend of Mike's and will be following him as he (probably) sets up another church in the not too proximate area (but which may be closer to our home).

This is rather distressing as we just went through this a little over a year ago at Mission Hills Church. We'll hear Mike preach his last sermon this Sunday, and then who knows where we will attend for the short-term including Easter. We're likely to follow Mike as we really like his teaching style, but it may be months before there is any place to meet or he may decide to take a bit of time just to rest. This whole event stresses families and friends as they choose different churches.

Please pray that Christian friendships won't be impacted, but that we might consider this an opportunity to expand Christ's influence throughout the Saddleback Valley.

Numbers

Those of you who know me, know that I'm a numbers man. Where Carolyn can retain names, I retain numbers. I see patterns, primes, quotients. I remember numbers that have little need to be remembered.

So on Friday, while I was totally hooked up to the ER monitors, I'd occasionally look over to check my vitals - you know, to see if I was flat lining or anything (just kidding). Blood pressure was good and low around 115/75, respirations around 20 per minute and heart beats of around 72 per minute.

Do you realize what an amazing machine our hearts are? 72 beats per minute, 4,320 beats per hour, 103,680 beats per day. Nearly 38 million beats per year. By the time you're 25, your heart has worked almost flawlessly for 946 million beats and mine has worked over 2.1 billion and I'm hoping for over 3 billion!

God does some amazing work! And I'm extremely grateful that the hours He's numbered for me have not yet been fully counted.

A Day in the ER

Well, the pain in my chest began Thursday afternoon and it felt like a pulled muscle on my left rib cage and a sharp jab between the ribs when I twisted or turned in a different direction. Now I knew it wasn't because of heavy lifting or exercise because I hadn't done either! Like a typical male, I chose not to mention it to Carolyn as I didn't want her to worry and I went to bed expecting/hoping the pain would be non-existent at dawns break.

At around 1 a.m. Friday morning I awoke with the same pain and as I turned from my back to my side I'd get that sharp pain. I got up and got on the internet and did a little googling on "heart attack and pulled muscle" as well as making sure that Saddleback was on our hospital provider list for Blue Shield. As I got back into bed, Carolyn woke up and wondered what was wrong. I gave her my symptoms and we discussed whether or not I wanted to go to the ER. After a short mulling period, I said yes and we quickly dressed and drove over to Saddleback's ER.

It wasn't too busy, but putting chest pains as your symptoms when you're a 56 year old male generally gets you to the front of the line unless you have blood spurting. A nurse did the normal triage and soon I was in a private room in the ER hooked up to a machine which monitored resting pulse rate, blood pressure, and heart rhythms. And then the fun began.

Two guys working on their paramedic degree were prowling the corridor and they came in to practice putting in a line to infuse saline or extract blood samples. The first guy worked on my left arm and made comments like "oh, this is difficult" and "darn" - comments which don't engender confidence and I have the bruise to prove it. The second guy was quieter but his bruise was 'purpler'. But finally with the male nurse's assistance they were able to get a line in and take the first of about three blood samples.

Carolyn was with me in the ER and after about two hours (4 a.m.) I convinced her to go home to catch a few hours of sleep. She made several calls and e-mails to Ashley, Pattie and George our church's application group leader. I slept fitfully as activity occurred in the halls outside and the blood pressure cuff automatically inflated every 15 minutes or so.

Carolyn showed up again around 7 a.m. and we waited for the requisite number of blood draws to determine my enzyme levels which are indicators of a heart attack. Then George showed up at the foot of my bed with his youngest son and prayed with us. It was a wonderful gift of Christian brotherhood.

Around 9 I got a breakfast plate for the heart un-healthy - decaf coffee, those special eggs, OJ, and oatmeal. I ate enough of the pablum to satisfy my hunger if not my taste buds. Then more waiting and by this time I had been moved over to another section of the ER which was the 'holding' area for those awaiting hospital admittance. Dr. Chong finally showed up and went through the four possibilities for my pain and he thought it unlikely I had had a heart attack but he was scheduling a stress test to rule out other heart problems.

I continued to try to catnap while Carolyn sat beside me reading, knitting or watching. She was getting really tired around 12:30 so I convinced her to go get something to eat and she walked over to the food court in the mall. By that time we knew that people in the hospital were not doing early check-outs and getting a bed would take some time.

But finally, after being told I couldn't eat for two hours before the stress test, it became obvious that since my blood chemicals looked OK, they were going to send me for that and if it showed no problems, I'd be discharged.

Around 2 I was wheeled through the hospital corridors in a wheelchair (finally with my pants on and not just a gown) to the test room. I had two nurses who took pleasure in ripping off the old leads from my chest and shaving and roughing up the areas for the new leads. Although I did lose a lot of chest hair today, they were actually quite humorous about the whole situation. Primed for my walk on the treadmill the doctor was paged who came in a few minutes later introducing himself as Bob - not even Dr. Bob! He was a real nice guy and let Carolyn stay in the room. He also told me right away that it wasn't my heart but more likely an inflammation of the nerves between my lungs and ribs.

But we had the test anyway, and my blood pressure and heart looked just great through a full ten minutes of increasing speed and incline! Not bad for someone whose major exercise comes on the weekend when working around the garden.

Released a little while later, Carolyn drove us home and I've had a shower, shaved and dressed much to my wife's delight. Now, I think we'll take a little nap!

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS!!

Problems at Church

At our last church home, Mission Hills, an issue arose between our pastor and the elder board over administrative functions and who had the final say re hirings and firings. Those issues plus personality clashes led to an undercurrent of gossip and the creation of various 'camps' within the church. Letters detailing complaints flowed through back channels. Even with the CBA coming in to mediate, the result was that our pastor publicly repented of his failings, but was effectively forced out a short time later and the dissidents held strongly to their positions which left many, including us, uncomfortable about remaining in that body. So we left and started attending Pacific Coast Church about 14 months ago.

We have really enjoyed the teaching of Pastor Mike, and he began a series of four sermons six weeks ago on the true gospel and how to ascertain it through Bible study. And, then after three sermons, he did not preach the next Sunday and we had a report on a recent missions trip to Cuba which seemed to be hastily put together. Then last Wednesday at our applications group, our leader asked us to especially pray for our church leadership. Something was definitely wrong between Pastor Mike and the elder board!

Sunday we were in Lake Arrowhead in the morning so we missed the service, but we came home to an e-mail that said 'leadership issues' would be discussed at the evening communion service. We had barely any time to put our bags down before we raced to San Clemente to find the parking lot and adjacent street packed with cars. We ended up sitting in the lobby watching a monitor and others ended up on the patio.

PCC is a reasonably large church, but it turns out we have only five elders, three of whom are staff members and pastors. There was an attempt to silence rumors without giving much detail as the CBA has again been called in to help mediate and it might not be helpful to lay out all the issues in detail right now. But the obvious problem is between our senior pastor and an associate pastor who he wished to terminate (I think). The elder board disagreed. Our building program has been put on hold to a degree. Our senior pastor has requested a 'sabbatical' of at least 30 days and perhaps longer.

Our hearts hurt right now as these issues are so disruptive and divisive and it feels like deja vu all over again. I'm not trying to gossip, just to inform and to ask for your prayers for the church. And perhaps a caution on picking godly, non-staff elders, and the importance of prayer and faith and unity as decisions are made about both administration and growth.

Southern California Advantages

As my previous posts show, we spent early Saturday morning in Newport Harbor buying a sailboat, and about an hour and half to two hours later we were up in Lake Arrowhead. From sea to 6000 foot elevation, from saltwater to snow, for a short little break from the routine.

The village in Lake Arrowhead was relatively quiet much to my surprise, but perhaps because route 18 was closed or that the weather was a little cloudy/misty/rainy contributed to the lack of crowds. We checked out a few shops and then stopped in at Woody's for lunch - salad/soup bar for Carolyn and burger and fries for me. The booths are constructed as if from the old-style ChrisCraft wooden speed boats with table tops of inlaid wood and the restaurant has nice views of the lake.

After lunch we checked out a few of the outlet shops (Bass, Jockey) and picked up a few items before heading over to our B&B, Fleur de Lac, to check in. We had a very cozy room (thus the cheapest) with a double (or queen) bed tucked up against the wall and under a bit of a dormer. The great room off the reception area was furnished with leather couches and chairs and stocked with games, CDs, books and wine or sodas for an afternoon repast. After a much deserved nap, we found ourselves back there to sample the wine and peruse the menus from local establishments as we contemplated dinner.

Several places were either too far or required reservations, Carolyn didn't want Mexican, so we ended up back at Woody's for our second meal of the day. Carolyn went with a seafood dish while I had a filet mignon stroganoff preceded by the salad bar. Neither of us could finish all that was served, but it all was good.

Sunday we awoke to a sunny, white cloud enhanced day. The sky was just brilliant. Breakfast served by the Inn's hostess was a creme brulee type french toast which was entirely decadent and may find its way into Carolyn's repartee! We then checked out and drove around the mountains a bit enjoying the snow and scenery.

Heading home in the early afternoon, I suggested we check out The Preserve at Chino, which is the master-planned community in former dairy lands the Lewis Operating Corp. is constructing. We visited the 15,000 sq. ft. Parkhouse which acts as both the information center and the community association center, then we walked three of the five models complexes currently building on the site. I think all of the nine models we walked were over 3,000 sq. ft. and at most were on 6,000 sq. ft. lots and were priced at $630,000 and up. There were some interesting designs or rooms, but I wasn't bowled over by any in particular, and I did find the pungent smell of nearby dairies a little overwhelming.

Home again around 4 p.m., we found out about an important church service to be held at 5 via e-mail (more on that later) so we hurried down to San Clemente and afterwards enjoyed In N Out for dinner before getting home to relax.

Here's Steven's Suggestion

Steve Hughes photoshopped this suggestion onto the stern of our boat.

What Should We Name Her?

So Carolyn already let the cat out of the bag, but it is now official that we are half owners of a Cal-27!! We met Dennis Hughes and his son, Steven, at the Sea Scouts base in Newport harbor to meet Terry who handles the sales of donated boats for the Scouts. We checked the boat out as much as we could and it is the cleanest of any we've seen although it definitely needs a good power washing and buffing (maybe some paint) and some typical work on the wood which needs sanding and varnish. We may decide to paint on some sort of accent stripe as it seems rather vanilla looking but it does have a black and gold stripe at the waterline. It has a self-furling jib, an engine that works (we think), and even an automatic pilot attachment. After Carolyn I left for a short weekend in Lake Arrowhead, Dennis was able to get a diver who was working on a nearby boat to check out the hull and everything looks good!

Now we have to think of a proper name for her. Suggestions are welcome. Here are a few we've thought of so far:
Saline Solution
Go Sea Cal
Salt & Light

Is there a sailboat in our future?

We may have a line on a Cal-27 sailboat at a reasonable price from the Sea Scouts in Newport Beach. A woman in Poland (!!) bought it back in October with the plan to have it shipped to Poland. I can't imagine what those shipping costs would have been, but it seems she hasn't made any progress in arranging shipping. So the Scouts may return the purchase price to her and re-sell it and Dennis was in the right place at the right time. He has seen the boat and says it is pretty clean with an inboard engine and a furling jib. I'll try to see it with Dennis either Friday late afternoon or early Saturday morning before Carolyn and I head up to Lake Arrowhead for a short weekend away from our still drying out downstairs.

Scared into Heaven?

Last night, Carolyn and I attended a presentation at our old church at the invitation of friends which was titled "Heaven's Gate or Hell's Flames" which used vignettes and video against a backdrop which tried to represent the entry to heaven or (stage right) the gates of hell.

The vignettes showed various life-situations where people might either accept/reject/put off a decision to follow Christ followed immediately by their death (car accident, suicide, murder, etc.) where they find themselves before Heaven's Gate pleading to the angels to find their name in the Book of Life only to be grabbed by the devil and his demons if they hadn't accepted Christ. Those who had accepted Him were welcomed into heaven with fanfare and rejoicing.

Really, this was a revival meeting updated to include strobe lights, video and loud music. But the Gospel was preached and obviously was impactful in that dozens went forward at the altar call to proclaim publicly their acceptance of Christ. They were then given either prayer support and/or a packet of material for their review later and they were invited to a Bible teaching church.

As the pastor said, many would find this approach dated, but the outreach over 3 days brought dozens to the altar rail. So my question is what do you think about this evangelical approach? Can you scare someone into a relationship with Christ? Or is fear of hell a legitimate heart response that can convict us of our sins and prompt us to bow in obedience?

Da Brain, Da Brain

If you link to the links of the links of the blogs you read, sometimes you find a fun little quiz. Thankfully, my brain matches my gender.

Your Brain is 40.00% Female, 60.00% Male

You have a total boy brain Logical and detailed, you tend to look at the facts And while your emotions do sway you sometimes... You never like to get feelings too involved

What Gender Is Your Brain?